Sepp Blatter will meet the English Prime Minister over World Cup bid
FIFA president Sepp Blatter will meet with the British Prime Minister David Cameron tomorrow to discuss England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals.
FIFA will make a decision on who will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals in early December. This will be England’s last chance to convince FIFA that they should be the country to hold the World Cup.
Chairman for England’s 2018 World Cup bid, Geoff Thompson said, “The Prime Minister spoke with president Blatter shortly after taking office to reiterate the British government's support for the bid and to invite him to Downing Street."
"We are delighted the FIFA president has accepted and we are honoured that he and FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke will be visiting England so close to the decision in December," added Thompson.
Blatter will be shown a presentation and meet a number of FA officials before meeting with the English Prime Minister.
The FIFA president is also expected to meet the London mayor Boris Johnson on the visit.
Thompson was pleased that Blatter decided to accept Cameron’s invitation as he believes that it will be a great opportunity for England to highlight their ambition to host the competition.
"We will take this opportunity to provide first-hand evidence of England's passion for the game," said Thompson.
In August a six-man delegation visited England to review the bid. The delegation visited a number of grounds including Old Trafford, the Stadium of Light, St James’ Park and the City of Manchester Stadium.
They also met with England manager Fabio Capello and his assistant coach, Stuart Pearce.
A number of countries including Russia, the USA, Netherlands/Belgium and Spain/Portugal are hopeful that their bids will be accepted for the 2018 World Cup.
However, England believes that Blatter’s visit will give them the chance to persuade the FIFA president and put them into the position of favourites to host the tournament.
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