World Football News: Prince William to boost England’s 2018 bid as Donovan ponders on his future
As the footballing community waits for FIFA’s decision to award the hosts for the 2018 and the 2022 World Cup, England’s 2018 bid’s chief executive Andy Anson has added yet another card to the table after he revealed that Prince William
will do whatever it takes to bring the 2018 World Cup to England. Prince William has been in the headlines recently due to his engagement ceremony in Kenya. However, Anson is hoping that the second-in-line to the English throne will work wonders for his country’s
bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Speaking on Prince Williams possible contribution to the bid, Anson said, "He's done a number of things throughout this process already. When he came to Rome for the Champions League final, he spent a lot of time with various UEFA people.
He was there with other visiting dignitaries and he clearly was the one that everyone was most pleased to meet. He then came out to South Africa with his brother and, again, got on brilliantly, spent a lot of quality time with a number of FIFA Excos. So, he
does have a lot of strong relationships and he's willing again to do whatever he needs to support the bid."
England’s bid is also backed by the likes of their Prime Minister David Cameron as well as the Manchester United legend, David Beckham. Anson remarked on the strength of the bid as he stated, "I think we've got the strongest combination.
I think it's an incredibly potent combination and I think that the fact they've been involved throughout means they're all recognizable. The Prime Minister has done an amazing job in the last month or two, in private discussions and private communications.
The support we've had from Number 10 in the last few months has been nothing short of incredible.”
He added, “David Beckham is known and loved and has deep relationships with a number of the FIFA Exco, as does Prince William. And, the good thing is, they've got different relationships with different members of the 24. And so our strategy
is to use their relationships to help the bid where they're strongest. If I was weigh things up as to what's in the public interest, I think bringing the World Cup to England is very, very important to the public."
Landon Donovan has been in the headlines as well with regard to his possible return to the English Premier League on a loan move from L.A Galaxy. Donovan cleared the air as he spoke to the media. The U.S national said, "Give me a few weeks
and I will have an answer for you. Right now I'm four days into my vacation and I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to chill and then in a few weeks I will make a decision."
Remarking on the current footballing year during which Donovan represented United States of America in the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Landon remarked, "Both personally and professionally I would have to say it's been the best
year of my life. This time of year, I guess, is the time to reflect on it and realize how special it was."
Tags: