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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.
By Duncan Mackay
December 7 – The Premier League’s support of England’s campaign to host the 2018 World Cup was demonstrated at the weekend when clubs donated perimeter advertising at their fixtures to promote the bid, chief executive Andy Anson (pictured) has claimed.
By Duncan Mackay
December 5 – England’s pairing with Algeria in the draw for 2010 World Cup seems set to give them the country’s 2018 World Cup bid the perfect opportunity to try to impress one of the 24 members of FIFA’s ruling Executive Committee who are due to vote next year on which countries should host the tournament.
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By Duncan Mackay
December 3 – David Beckham today continued his one-man campaign to win England its bid to host the 2018 World Cup when attended a ‘Coaching for Hope’ (CfH) session at the Khaylitsha Township, Cape Town to meet with youngsters and coaches involved with the scheme.
By Duncan Mackay
December 2 – David Beckham is set to stay in South Africa to help England’s 2018 World Cup bid despite the death of his 83-year-old grandfather, which has left him devastated.
By Andrew Warshaw in Johannesburg
December 1 – England’s 2018 World Cup bid team today launched a passionate defence of their campaign here as the public relations war among bidding nations intensified.
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By David Owen
December 1 – The Australian bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups has scored a major coup by securing backing from Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu (pictured).
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By Duncan Mackay in Johannesburg
November 30 – Paul Elliott, the former Chelsea and Celtic defender who is a member of England 2018’s Board, today met with FIFA Executive Committee member Amos Adamu (pictured) at Soccerex, the global football convention.
By Duncan Mackay in Johannesburg
November 29 – England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup received another morale-boosting endorsement today when Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (pictured) said that England deserved to host the tournament for the first time in more than half-a-century.
By Duncan Mackay
November 28 – Gary Lineker (pictured), the man many are trying to persuade to take over from Lord Triesman as the leader of England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup, tonight insisted that his commitments with the BBC would rule him out from playing a more prominent role.
By Duncan Mackay
November 27 – Jack Warner, the FIFA vice-president, has met the British and Australian Prime Ministers Gordon Brown (pictured) and Kevin Rudd to discuss the countries respective bids to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.
November 27 – Paul Gascoigne (pictured) today claimed that the North-East should have two venues involved in staging matches if England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup is successful.
By Andrew Warshaw at Wembley
November 26 – England’s World Cup bid owes it to the competing cities for 2018 to put an end to all the squabbling and backbiting that has marred the campaign in recent weeks, according to bid chief executive Andy Anson (pictured third right).
By Andrew Warshaw
November 26 - England 2018 World Cup bid officials have ruled out the possibility of Liverpool being denied a hosting slot despite increasing problems over a new stadium in the city.
By Duncan Mackay
November 26 – England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup will today switch temporarily from the boardroom politics that are threatening to undermine the campaign when 15 cities from across the country will travel to Wembley Stadium to submit their cases to be included as part of the plans.