Anson Named As Ceo For 2018 Bid
After months of speculation, Andy Anson, the European chief executive of men’s tennis tour the ATP, has been appointed as chief executive for England’s 2018 World Cup bid.
The new CEO, who was previously commercial director with Manchester United prior to joining the ATP, will begin his duties in January and will be responsible for the day-to-day operations involved in leading and developing the bid that will aim to bring the World Cup to England.
Anson joins the executive board of the bid company reporting to chairman Lord Triesman, mirroring his post at The FA, who is supported by deputy chairmen David Gill, chief executive of Manchester United, and Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney.
The executive board also includes Labour peer Baroness Amos; former Minister for Sport and governmental 2018 World Cup bid ambassador Richard Caborn MP; London 2012 vice chairman Sir Keith Mills, and Sir Martin Sorrell, chairman of marketing agency network WPP.
Anson emerged as the successful candidate for a post which was also linked to Phillip Beard, UK chief executive of AEG, which owns The O2 Arena, and Rick Parry, chief executive of Liverpool.
The appointment comes after last week’s announcement of new vice presidents Lord Nick Stern, as an expert on environmental issues; chief executive of Tesco, Terry Leahy; and UEFA and FIFA executive committee member Geoff Thompson, a former FA chairman.
They joined other ambassadorial vice-presidents Chelsea’s chief executive Peter Kenyon, England manager Fabio Capello, Gordon Taylor from the PFA as well as past and present England internationals John Barnes and David Beckham.
