Beckham to deliver 2018 bid

Written by Kris Mole Monday, 10 May 2010 13:42

England World Cup Blog

 David Beckham will be the face of England's 2018 World Cup bid in Zurich this Friday, as he hands over the official submission to Fifa president Sepp Blatter.

Fifa will make their final decision on who will host the 2018 and 2022 competitions in December, with the race to stage the 2018 tournament about to enter its most serious phase to date.

On Friday, each of the bidding countries must enter hundreds of pages of technical information outlining details of venues, training camps, ticketing, government guarantees, transport, and, crucially, estimates for how much the competition will cost to host and how much income it will make. This last detail is most important because Fifa have said that they don't want countries to overstretch themselves financially as the world is still feeling the effects of the economic downturn.

England's bid materials left Wembley earlier today in a secure 18-ton truck for the 613-mile journey from North-West London to Fifa's headquarters in Zurich, via the motorways of France and Belgium. Fortunately for the bid, the lorry isn't being driven by Tottenham's David Bentley.

England's bid team feel that Becks is a hugely positive factor in their application. A source from the campaign said, "David Beckham is a global football icon and a great role model and it is entirely appropriate that he should hand over the bid."

Fifa will assess each bid later this year before filing a report for the 24 members of the Fifa executive committee, which will then make its decision at the end of the year. The battle to host the 2018 competition is expected to be a three-way fight between England, Russia and a joint bid from Spain and Portugal. Australia, America and the Netherlands are also in the race, though.

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