Lord Triesman to quit England 2018 bid
Lord Triesman is set to quit as chairman of the England 2018 bid for world cup, but he will not be stepping down from the post of chairman of the Football Association of England. Triesman’s actions come after a report in the mail on earlier suggesting that Triesman hinted that Spain might end its bid, if their Rival Russians helped bribe referees in the world cup coming up in summers. The FA has acted in sending official apologies to Spanish and Russian boards and looking at damage limitation for now. The mail claims to have got their hands on a tape of conversation, between Triesman and an aide of his, where he made such suggestions.
The news came just 2 days after the former England captain David Beckham helped FA submit a bid which was in shape of a book with 1, 752 pages, in order to convince FIFA to award the 2018 world cup to England.
Speaking about Triesman’s decision to leave the post, Britain’s new sports Minister Hugh Robertson said, "It is absolutely the right decision to take.
"Our top priority as a new government is to win this bid for the country and I am delighted they have acted as quickly and decisively as they have done.
"All is not lost, we would rather we weren't dealing with the situation but it is better that it has happened now, so soon after handing over the bid book, rather than two three months out.
"It is not good for the organisation and it would be ludicrous to pretend otherwise but the fundamentals that underpin the bid are as strong as ever and will be remembered long after this unfortunate event is forgotten."
The football association till now have refused to comment on the issue, but it is clear that the association is trying to distance itself from the allegations made by Triesman, and FA is making sure that the rest of the world understands that the feelings voiced by Mr. Triesman are purely his own, and the FA or any of its member does not share his thoughts
Fifa president Sepp Blatter on Friday spoke highly of the bid from England to host the world cup, a bid which includes 12 towns and Cities from across England, while calling it "the easiest bid in the world", but also acknowledged the plans handed over by Russia by saying they are simply remarkable.
Coming back to the damage caused by Triesman’s comments it will be interesting to see how it would affect the big picture, as on Friday with Beckham being at the forefront things were looking all good for England’s chances of hosting the big event in 2018.
The bid has been in some turmoil since its inception, as there was some infightings and number of officials resigned, and Triesman’s leadership has also been in question for a while now.
England have not been the hosts of the biggest sporting event on planet, for a while now, and the chances of 2018 being the year are still looking not so bad, even after the dramatics by Triesman, but FA will still have to hold their breath to wait and see what impact will the mini controversy have in the long run.
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