England determined to impress FIFA for 2018 World Cup bid
Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson has put his weight behind the World Cup bid by England for the FIFA World Cup 2018.
The Scotsman will join the former Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to show around the 6 man assessment team from FIFA. The team will be touring Old Trafford which will be one of the biggest venues in the World Cup.
Old Trafford manager said that the facilities at his club are state of the art for the players as well as the fans. He said that everything at the venue is suited for any mega international event. He said that the fans in Manchester in fact all over England are fantastic, and if the World Cup is staged in England the whole world will be able to witness the fantastic passion. Ferguson said that England is a place that is ideal to host such events, and Olympics in 2012 will be a great evidence of that.
The FIFA team was in London on Tuesday, where they were given number of briefings and presentations regarding the preparations of the World Cup in England. The 6 man team headed to the North East later on and is expected to be at Old Trafford today.
People like, Daniel Levy Tottenham chairman, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis, Liverpool chief executive Christian Purslow and London mayor Boris Johnson were all present in London to greet the FIFA team.
The FIFA team were also briefed on the arrangement of hotels and transport for the fans that come from all over the world. The 6 member team also went to the O2 arena that is the venue proposed for the final draw.
The England football association look determined to get the World Cup in 2018, the arrangements made to make sure all goes well for the assessment team were fool proof. The team was later taken to Middlesbrough training ground, and that was followed by a tour of St.James Park.
Howard Webb, the English referee who officiated in the World Cup final, also met the FIFA team and made sure he added his 2 cents to convince them.
One of the key parts of the presentations to the FIFA inspectors were the arrangements made for the draw. The final draw that will be made in London for the 32 teams is the key to a successful World Cup, the officials said.
The bid proposed that the balls for the draw will be taken by river to the Tower of London. The process will be followed by an event where a larger than life 3-D holograph of a penalty shoot-out will be displayed on the river. The Tower Bridge will be used as a huge goal. Finally the day when the draws are to be made, the balls will be taken to Thames to the O2 arena – the outer side of the Stadium of O2 arena will be made to look like a giant football.
It all looks set to impress the inspectors, and England football association has said that things are looking good.
Fabio Capello, the England team manager said that, England fans have a great passion for the game and England will be a great venue for the World Cup. The Italian endorsed England’s bid for the 2018 mega event and said that he for sure will not be in charge of England team but will like to help out in some capacity.
Former England captain David Beckham has also been at the forefront of England’s bid for the World Cup and said that he has no doubts that England will be hosting the World Cup.
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