England World Cup Bid To Avoid Arrogance
England has officially launched its bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup with chief executive Andy Anson warning that the bid must not appear arrogant if it is to successfully land the right to host the tournament.
At the official launch, Anson was quick to point out that lessons have been learned from the unsuccessful attempt to host the 2006 competition.
While praising England’s stadia and passion for football, Anson made it clear that attitudes have to change.
‘We cannot be arrogant or complacent. This campaign has to be about working hard. One of the things we learned from the last World Cup bid was we were perceived to be arrogant around the world in how we presented ourselves.
‘The tone of this campaign has to be different. We will certainly not be saying that football is coming home. It was an arrogant slogan.’
England’s launch party was held at Wembley Stadium and attended by past and present England players, including Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Geoff Hurst and Wayne Rooney, as well as Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
David Beckham was also in attendance as the official World Cup bid ambassador in an impressive display of unity across all the football authorities in England as well as all corners of the government.
The bid logo and official slogan – ‘England United. The World’s Invited’ – was also unveiled at the launch event.
Speaking at the launch, the chairman of the Football Association as well as the bid, Lord Triesman, said: ‘We in England would be truly honoured to host the World Cup and welcome the world.
‘We have first-class grounds. We’ve got good transport links, domestically and internationally. We’ve got excellent accommodation. England would be truly honoured to host the tournament.’
Fifteen English cities have been short-listed as prospective venues for matches.
They comprise Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Sunderland in the north, Birmingham, Derby, Leicester and Nottingham in the Midlands, and Bristol, London, Milton Keynes and Portsmouth in the south.
FIFA will decide who hosts the 2018 and 2022 tournaments in December 2010.
The decision rests with FIFA’s 24-man executive committee. Spain and Portugal’s joint bid and Russia are expected to be England’s main rivals in Europe, while the US and Australia are among the other countries bidding.
The line-up is completed by a joint bid from Belgium and Netherlands as well as bids from Indonesia, Japan and Mexico.
In all, nine countries are bidding to host the World Cup in either 2018 or 2022, with two more nations focusing their bids on 2022 alone in the form of Qatar and South Korea.
