England 2018 Team Hands In Bid Book

A representative team from England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup, led by former national team captain David Beckham, has delivered the 1,752-page bid book to world governing body FIFA.

The hosts for 2018 and 2022 will be announced on 2nd December with nine candidates are handing over their bids to FIFA president Sepp Blatter today.

The bid book covers details of England’s bid such as stadiums, transport, security, marketing and football and social development.

A European bid is tipped to get the 2018 tournament with England up against Russia and joint bids from Spain/Portugal and Belgium/Netherlands.

The other bidders, although they are mainly focused on the 2022 tournament, are Australia, the United States, Japan, Qatar and South Korea.

Beckham was joined on stage by Fifa vice-president Geoff Thompson, England 2018 chief executive Andy Anson and Football Association chairman Lord Triesman, who confirmed to Blatter that England would also like to be considered for the 2022 event.

In a short speech, Beckham sought to convey the place of football at the heart of English culture.

‘As you will see by our bid book we have a lot of passion for the game and bringing the biggest sporting event in the world to our country.

‘As a player you always dream of playing in the World Cup in your own country so you will see the emotion this will bring to us and our fans. This is something that runs through our country and through our veins.’

Beckham has also published a two-page letter outlining the strengths of the 2018 bid.