FIFA’s World Cup inspection team flew in to England
There were intermittent showers, dark clouds, brief periods of sunshine and a swirling wind: in other words, typical unpredictable English conditions.
Fortunately, nothing seemed to dampen the spirits of FIFA’s World Cup inspection team when they flew into London yesterday for four days of city and stadium visits that will go a long way towards determining whether the tournament comes home for the first time since 1966.
There were minor glitches such as Fabio Capello being kept waiting for half an hour before meeting the six-strong FIFA delegation at Wembley, though no one would say whether that was a result of the inspectors, who insisted on travelling by public transport at the start of rush hour, being delayed by London’s notoriously poor Tube system.
If that was hardly the best start following Nick Clegg’s official welcome at Downing Street, a brief tour of the national stadium, where members of the inspection team took penalties to canned applause, was a light-hearted touch.
Organisers know, however, that the next four days are deeply serious, especially after the series of gaffes that have dogged the campaign, most recently the embarrassing resignation of former FA and bid chairman Lord Triesman over bribery allegations made in a private conversation.
A semblance of stability has since been restored and insiders were quick to play down Prime Minister David Cameron’s decision not to cut short his vacation to meet the FIFA team, even though his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, did exactly that when the group visited Moscow last week.
Officials make the point that the next four days are about showcasing England’s footballing traditions and state-of-the-art facilities. Leaving the delegates with a good impression is a vital part of the bidding process with a little over three months to go before the all-important vote.
A report on potential hosts will be handed to each of FIFA’s 24 voting members and while England’s case has undoubtedly been boosted by FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s assertion yesterday that an English World Cup would provide the most low-risk tournament, the next few months promise to be fiercely contested in the race for individual votes. No matter how well England perform in the schmoozing stakes over the next three days when the FIFA delegation are taken to Newcastle, Sunderland and, ultimately, Manchester, the real challenge is getting the lobbying right.
Sports minister Hugh Robertson admitted as much in an interview just before the plane carrying the delegation touched down yesterday.
“The infrastructure is already in place. You can dump the World Cup on us tomorrow,” said Robertson. “Secondly, we can guarantee a return for FIFA. And we can deliver an international legacy in the way other people can’t. These are three powerful arguments.” He added: “I’m convinced that in footballing terms ours is the best bid. The danger is that this decision is not made for football reasons but that other international political concerns get in the way.”
As Robertson spoke, a hot-air balloon was released over Buckingham Palace to mark the fact that it is 100 days from today before the choice of 2018 host is made and to illustrate the support of the royal family.
England bid officials hope that when the inspectors take to the air again, they will take with them a strong sense that England is best-placed to stage the World Cup for the first time in over half a century.‘We can deliver an international legacy’
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