Brown holds talks with FIFA vice-president at Downing Street

By Duncan Mackay in London

December 7 – Prime Minister Gordon Brown has held talks at Downing Street with Dr Mong-Joon Chung (pictured middle), a FIFA vice-president, to help promote England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

During a whistle-stop tour on his way back to Seoul from Cape Town, where he had been attending the draw for next year’s World Cup, Chung also met Jeremy Hunt, the Shadow Culture Minister, and was then the guest of London Mayor Boris Johnson at the Emirates to watch Arsenal beat Stoke City 2-0 in the Premiership.

Chung, the chairman of the ruling Grand National Party in South Korea and tipped as a future Prime Minister in his country, was visiting Brown to discuss taking the G20 agenda forward as South Korea takes over the Chairmanship in January.

But the British Prime Minister also used it as an opportunity to promote England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

Brown said: ”We have an outstanding bid, world-leading facilities and infrastructure, and a country that is totally united in its determination to bring the world cup to England.”

The 58-year-old Chung, who has been a member of the FIFA Executive Committee since 1994 and was the co-chairman of the 2002 World Cup when it was staged in South Korea and Japan, is one of the most powerful men in world football and is believed to be sympathetic towards England’s bid.

England believe the success of their campaigning in Cape Town, led by the presence David Beckham, has helped them regain the initiative over their rivals in the race to host the World Cup in 2018 and they are now keen to continue to drill home their message in the coming meetings with a series of high-level meetings.

Brown said: “I reiterated to Dr Chung that the Government will offer its fullest support to give our bid the best prospects of success.”

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