England favourites to host 2018 World Cup
Bookmakers have made England the favourites to win the bid to host the football World Cup in 2018. The formal bid for the tournament has been handed over to Fifa by David Beckham, who said he believed that England should be awarded the honour, because football ran through the nation’s veins.
England’s bid book was handed to Fifa president Sepp Blatter, who said that England was the motherland of football. Mr Blatter added that he had already spoken to David Cameron by phone, and that the new Prime Minister was firmly behind the bid. Mr Blatter went on to say that Mr Cameron had also expressed his support for this year’s World Cup in South Africa.
Although William Hill has placed odds of 10/11 on England hosting the games in 2018, the country still has to pass a technical inspection by Fifa. England’s 2006 bid for the games ended when inspectors judged the country to be worse than South Africa and Germany.
However, officials are more confident of success this time round. Director of England 2018’s technical bid, Ian Riley, said that he believed Fifa would see England as a low-risk option. He added that Fifa would be looking for adequate construction, and that England had a good mix of new builds and existing stadiums.
Also putting in bids to play host to the games in 2018 are Spain and Portugal, Russia, Australia, Holland and Belgium, the USA and Indonesia. Fifa’s executive committee will hold a vote to decide who will host the games on December 2.
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