FIFA criticises England’s 2018 World Cup bid
England's 2018 World Cup bid has been criticised by FIFA, the Cup's governing body, in a report published on Wednesday 17 November. Although the governing body admitted that England was a low risk country
to hold the World Cup in, they also criticised a number of flaws in the bid.
England’s rivals Russia and the joint bid of Spain and Portugal were also given a low risk rating to hold the World Cup.
FIFA highlighted a number of problems with England’s bid. The report read: "The bidder has not contracted the required number of venue-specific training sites or venue-specific team hotels. The bidder
has contracted the required number of team base camp (TBC), but has not contracted the required number of TBC hotels.”
The report also went on to criticise the training facilities. "Additional training sites, likely to be selected from England's existing range of professional club stadiums and training sites may have to
be considered. The proposed TBC renovations would have to be ensured and some pairings should be reviewed.”
The FIFA report also documented England’s lack of accommodation for FIFA officials as a problem. "In terms of accommodation, the bidder proposes a relatively large inventory.
However the fact that not many of the rooms have been contracted in full compliance with FIFA’s template hotel agreement requires further analysis and potentially renegotiation. FIFA could be exposed to
excessive pricing.”
Yet, FIFA did praise the English bid in relation to transport, IT infrastructure and technology, event safety, marketing and the media and communication.
A spokesperson for England’s World Cup bid played down the significance of FIFA’s criticisms stating that problems were minor.
The England 2018 World Cup bid still has a good chance of succeeding as FIFA also criticised Russia and the Spain/Portugal bids.
FIFA expressed concerns over Russia’s transport system, while they also were not satisfied with training facilities in Portugal and that border control issues could lead to transport difficulties.
The Netherlands/Belgium bid was all but ruled out, as it was given a medium risk rating due to a lack of hotel rooms, training facilities, government guarantees and concerns over border issues.
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