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New British PM backs England 2018 World Cup bid

LONDON - Britain’s new Prime Minister David Cameron threw his weight Friday behind England’s bid to host football’s World Cup in 2018.

Cameron, who took office this week following close-fought elections, said he had spoken to FIFA President Sepp Blatter on Thursday, on the eve of England’s bid presentation in Zurich.

Cameron “stressed the new government was absolutely behind England’s 2018 bid. He reminded Mr. Blatter that football was the national sport and people in England were extremely passionate about football,” said his office.

“He said that this country has great infrastructure and facilities and has a history of delivering great major sporting events like Euro 96; he said people in England were fully behind the bid.”

Blatter confirmed he received a call from Cameron on Thursday, saying the new Prime Minister “not only expressed his determination to be behind the bid but also to be behind the World Cup 2010.”

England star David Beckham and Australian football chief Frank Lowy were the first of the nine candidates to hand in their nations’ bids to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022 in Zurich on Friday.

They were due to be followed by the Netherlands and Belgium, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Russia, Spain and Portugal, and the United States in official ceremonies at the world governing body’s headquarters.

“We have a lot of passion for the game and passion for bringing the biggest sporting event to the country,” said Beckham as he handed over the three volume bid book to FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

“This is something that runs throughout our country, our veins, it’s something that we were brought up with,” Beckham added, accompanied by Football Association chiefs.

The bid books are meant to detail arrangements like stadiums, transport, security, financing and support.

Without revealing details on the contents, England played up not only its footballing pedigree and a passion for the game at the handover ceremony but also its multicultural society and football league.

“Every team will turn up and have its own team supporting them,” Beckham, vice president of the England 2018 bid, said in Zurich. “Brazil will turn up and have a full stadium.”

England 2018 chairman Lord Triesman said: “We’ve got a very diverse community.

“We think it will be a big commercial success.”

England, however, will face stiff competition from Holland, Belgium, Spain and Portugal, as well as Russia, with what is likely to be a mainly European race to host the event in 2018.

Blatter explicitly cleared the way for joint bids on Friday.

Referring to the World Cup finals next month, Geoff Thompson, a member of the England bid committee and former FA chairman said: “South Africa is clearly a vital time, we’ll be going around all the FIFA members.”