May 11 – Wallace and Gromit, created by Bristol-based Aardman Animations, are recreating Diego Maradona’s “hand of God” goal in an advert designed to back England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
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By Andrew Warshaw at Wembley Stadium
May 10 – England’s 2018 World Cup campaign will undergo a major charm offensive by inviting FIFA President Sepp Blatter to the country after this summer’s tournament in South Africa.
By Andrew Warshaw in London
May 9 – Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore (pictured) insists his organisation is fully behind England’s 2018 World Cup bid as the next crucial stage in the process approaches.
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May 2 – Plymouth Argyle’s relegation from the Championship will not affect plans to redevelop its Home Park stadium in time to host matches if England are chosen to host the World Cup in 2018, club officials promised today.
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April 30 – England have appointed an independent search marketing consultancy to try to gather more support on the internet for its bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
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April 28 – Every Premier League club in the country is to show its support to England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup with a series of activities for the last two weeks of the season, it has been announced.
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April 24 – England 2018 have announced British Airways as an official partner of their bid for the World Cup.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
April 23 – England will face former captain Bryan Robson (pictured) when they play a friendly in Thailand in a move that appears designed to win the vote of Worawi Makudi, the President of the the country’s football association and a member of the FIFA Executive Committee, for its bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
April 1 – Plymouth Argyle claim to have boosted their chances of securing the funding needed to turn Home Park into a 46,000-seater World Cup venue if England host the 2018 tournament after shareholders voted to sell the stadium to a newly-formed property company for £7.5 million.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
March 31 – Ian Riley (pictured), the technical director of England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup, has laid out what they need to do for its campaign to be successful ahead of other rivals like Russia and Australia.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
March 27 – England’s campaign to host the 2018 World Cup will not be affected by the shock resignation of Football Association chief executive Ian Watmore, the bid’s chief executive Andy Anson (pictured) claimed today.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
March 26 – A presentation to the leaders of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Kuala Lumpur by England’s World Cup bid, led by chief executive Andy Anson and International President David Dein and also including former Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United winger David Ginola, has won high praise.
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March 22 – David Beckham’s presence in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup can help swing the bid behind England 2018, Danny Jordaan has claimed.
March 22 – Ipswich Town today signed an agreement to be a training base for the World Cup if England’s bid to host the 2018 tournament is successful.
March 14 – David Beckham is set to be able to spend more time promoting England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup after suffering a serious injury that will keep him out of this year’s tournament in South Africa.