Prince William shows support to England World Cup bid

By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year

June 5 – Prince William is set to travel to South Africa later this month to help promote England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

William, the President of the Football Association, is expected to attend England’s World Cup match against Algeria on June 18 when the bid team are planning to hold a major reception that is also expected to be attended by other 2018 Ambassadors, including David Beckham.

William has already visited the FA’s headquarters at Wembley Stadium and spoke to members of England’s squad and management in South Africa via a video-link.

The Aston Villa fan was taken on a tour of the FA offices where he was linked to the England team in Rustenburg and spoke to manager Fabio Capello, Sir Trevor Brooking, John Terry, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney.

William said: “All the staff at Wembley and the players and management in South Africa are working so hard to make this a successful year for English football.

“It could be a year of amazing achievement, on and off the field- we could win both the World Cup in South Africa and the World Cup vote in Zurich.

“It will certainly be tough but both are do-able.”Despite Rio Ferdinand’s injury, which is a disappointment for Rio himself and the England team, morale in the team is high.

“Winning both the World Cup and the bid would be a huge boost to the whole country- and the whole country is behind them.”

FA general secretary Alex Horne said: “It was a great honour to host Prince William at Wembley.

“It was a real morale boost for everyone at the FA ahead of the World Cup and the England players and management really appreciated the message of support.”

Following the video link Prince William met the 2018 team.

England 2018 chief executive Andy Anson said: “Prince William is one of our most important and effective advocates and he is totally committed to bringing the World Cup to England.

“He made that clear to our team and everybody was really motivated by his visit.”

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