By Andrew Warshaw
October 1 – David Beckham’s ambassadorial role has put England in a strong position to win the right to stage the 2018 World Cup.
That’s the view of 2018 board member Sebastian Coe, who played such a pivotal part in upsetting the odds to bring the 2012 Olympics to London.
Coe was in large part responsible for masterminding the crisis management in the wake of Lord Triesman’s resignation as bid chairman following newspaper relevations in May.
Since then, the bid has been led by Britain’s FIFA vice-president Geoff Thompson.
Beckham was part of an official visit to Trinidad last week to launch a football festival in the presence of both FIFA president Sepp Blatter and – more significantly – Jack Warner, head of the CONCACAF confederation that has three votes among FIFA’s 24-strong executive committee.
Coe believes Beckham has been repeating much of the positive work he did to help London win the 2012 Olympic bid in Singapore.
“I don’t think the bid was ever really seriously off track,” Coe told Press Association.
“There was a little battlefield surgery and in campaigns like this you march on.
“Then there is Becks, who is a star – but why would I be surprised?
“That’s exactly what he helped us do in Singapore.”
Coe said lobbying during the run-in for 2018 would focus even more heavily on a number of key issues.
“I think the consistency of the messaging over the next two months has to be that we are passionate about football – that’s unquestioned.
“That we have a pre-eminent track record in the delivery of football in all its complexity on a day-by-day basis, and it’s a seven-day-a-week game in England.
“That we have the venues that are really world-class compared with anywhere else in the world.
“And that we have a marketplace and sponsorship market which is greater than any other bidding country at the table.
“I think those are four very, very compelling arguments.”
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