FIFA Visits England to Gauge 2018 World Cup Bid
The Federation of International Football Association visited the host country of the 2012 Olympics that is bidding to host the coveted football World Cup in 2018 or 2022, England, to gauge their proposal of hosting the event for a second time after staging the event in 1966.
The inspection team of the world governing body of the game visited the Wembley, one of the prized possessions of English football, to see what was on offer for the showpiece event that is considered the most watched sporting spectacle in international sports.
The visit to Wembley was the on the first day of a tour of sites that have been proposed by the 1966 champions that aim to win the hosting rights of either of the 2018 or 2022 tournaments.
The English organizers and member of the football association were on guard for the bid, as they had the inspection team meet England coach Fabio Capello; the team was taken around the stadium and watched a coaching session organised by the local community.
After their arrival in England, the inspectors, led by Chilean Football Federation President Harold Mayne-Nicholls, went straight to work, meeting the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at 10 Downing Street.
The meeting, held at the official residence of Prime Minister David Cameron, was extremely significant, as Clegg briefed the team about the plans put forward by his country to stage the coveted event.
The Deputy Prime Minister told the delegation that it was a surreal feeling for him to be at No. 10 and taking part in such an important meeting that was set to decide the future of the English bid.
He added that his team would work hard with the local organising bid committee to ensure that the best possible and a "very fair and complete" report is completed and sent to the executive members of FIFA.
The chief executive of the bid, Andy Anson, told the delegation that the country bracing for the greatest sporting stage, the Olympics, had the requisite skill, abilities and experience to pull off a splendid tournament.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron, who is currently on a holiday, is set to welcome FIFA President Sepp Blatter to his official residency sometime this year; the visit is most likely to take place in autumn.
The six-man FIFA delegation will now be visiting facilities in Manchester, London, Sunderland and Newcastle during a visit that is set to last four days.
The FIFA committee has had a busy time lately, as they have undertaken visits of some of the other contenders for the twin events.
They have visited 2022 hopefuls Japan, South Korea and Australia besides Russia, that is being considered as one of the strongest bets to stage the 2018 tournament.
During the meeting at No. 10, Clegg pledged the support for the bids that were initiated by Gordon Brown, the former UK Prime Minister.
"You will know in the inspection team that there is a new, or relatively new, coalition government here in the United Kingdom, and we want to emphasise to you on the occasion of your visit that the commitment, the declaration, the guarantees provided by the previous government are ones that we back 100 percent," he said.
Clegg reiterated that his government sees the bid as one of its priorities and will leave no stone unturned to ensure the success of the bid.
"One of the first things we did when we created this new coalition government was to write into our founding coalition agreement our resolve to continue to back to the hilt the England 2018 bid."
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