England 2018 prepare for most critical phase of bid

By Andrew Warshaw in London

August 23 – England;s 2018 World Cup bid enters its most critical phase today when FIFA’s technical team arrives for a four-day inspection of the country’s facilities.

A six-man inspection team will be greeted by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and will also meet England manager Fabio Capello on the first day of a visit amid tight security and strict media scrutiny.

Clegg will be joined by Secretary for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt and Sports and Olympic Minister Hugh Robertson at Downing Street along with an England 2018 delegation led by bid chairman Geoff Thompson.

Clegg’s welcome will be followed by statements from the inspection team;s leader, Harold Mayne-Nicholls, on behalf of FIFA, and a further speech from England 2018 chief executive, Andy Anson.

The FIFA team will then move on to Wembley later in the day for a tour of the national stadium with visits to Sunderland, Manchester and Newcastle to follow during a hectic timetable.

“We are looking forward to bringing our proposals to life by providing the inspectors with opportunities to experience some of our facilities first-hand and to take part in a range of presentations involving football people, from greats of the game through to community coaches and volunteers,” said Anson.

England, third on the FIFA team’s European itinerary, are up against Russia and the joint bids of Spain-Portugal and Holland-Belgium.

“England’s bid is based around stadiums and facilities that are already in place and already being used on a regular basis and so there is minimal construction and planning required,” said Anson.

If this week’s ultra-sensitive FIFA trip goes badly, it could ruin any chance of the tournament coming to England for at least another 20 years.

Media access to the delegates is strictly forbidden during the four days with bid members increasingly keen to prevent any public relations gaffes.

Although FIFA’s technical report no longer ranks candidates in order, the England campaign team is desperate to make a good impression after a series of political blunders that have dogged progress.

Marios Lefkaritis of Cyprus, one of the 24 FIFA voting members, said nothing could be left to chance.

“It’s undoubtedly a crucial time,” said Lefkaritis, who is understood to be leaning towards England.

“Mistakes are simply not permitted.

“You have to be very careful how you go about the inspection and how well prepared you are in terms of presentations and going from place to place.

“All these things carry a lot of importance.

“There is no second inspection.”

On the positive front, Lefkaritis says the fallout from former FA and bid chairman Lord Triesman’s high-profile resignation in May was well and truly buried. Triesman was forced out of office in the wake of embarrassing bribery allegations made against rival bidders.

“Nobody is talking about that any more,” said Lefkaritis who was part of the UEFA inspection team that chose Portugal for 2004.

“It doesn’t mean that England can’t organise the World Cup.”

The FIFA inspection team includes Danny Jordaan, the face of this summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

Jordaan was in direct opposition to England when both lost out to Germany in 2006 but is now a strong ally, even hiring former FA executive director and communications director David Davies as a media consultant in South Africa.

England is the penultimate European stop for FIFA’s inspection team, which moves on to Spain and Portugal next week.

Once the inspection visits are completed, the nine bid teams for both 2018 and 2022 will have until December 2, when the vote is taken in Zurich, to carry on lobbying.

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