World Cup 2018 bid team flies to Zurich

As delegates gathered to press the flesh at the headquarters of FIFA – football’s governing body – ahead of Thursday’s announcement of the winner, the English bid team have been frustrated by the timing of the BBC Panorama programme which accused three FIFA officials of taking bribes in the past.

The former England captain David Beckham was the main attraction in Zurich, despite the presence of the Prime Minister and Prince William as part of England’s bid team.

Beckham said the Panorama allegations would not cost England votes.

“The fact the Prime Minister came over here so early sends out the right tone.” David Beckham

“Me, David Dein, the Prime Minister and other members of the team sat down with President Blatter this morning and it was one of the topics that we spoke about and something that was cleared away,” he said.

“He brought it up within the talks and obviously it was not the easiest of things to talk about. He realised that a lot of it was old stuff and a lot of it was said. A lot of things go on and it is out of our hands.”

He praised David Cameron for taking part in the bid.

“The fact the Prime Minister came over here so early sends out the right tone. To have someone like the Prime Minister supporting this bid and supporting what we are trying to do for the country is a hell of a statement,” he said.

“The fact he and Prince William are here shows the weight of support we have in our country.”

Single focus

David Cameron deflected questions about the effect of Panorama saying: “I’ve only got one focus here and that’s trying to bring the World Cup home for England. That’s going to be my focus, talking to the decision-makers and pressing them on the brilliance of English football and what we can bring for this bid.”

The England 2018 team said after the programme: “We stand by our previous position that the BBC’s Panorama did nothing more than rake over a series of historical allegations, none of which are relevant to the current bidding process. It should be seen as an embarrassment to the BBC. The 2018 team are entirely focused on winning the bid for England.”

It is impossible to know how this will affect any individual’s vote come Thursday, but there was some relief that the revelations were not about the current bidding process.

“The investigation and the case are definitely closed.” FIFA spokesman

FIFA said today that the programme dealt with matters dating back many years, which had already been investigated by the Swiss authorities adding: “It is therefore important to stress again the fact that no FIFA officials were accused of any criminal offence in these proceedings…the investigation and the case are definitely closed.”

One of the three accused officials, Issa Hayatou, Vice-President of FIFA, is also a member of the International Olympic Committee. The IOC said today that it would refer the matter to its ethics committee for investigation.

Underdogs

England is now considered to be an underdog in the competition to host the competition in eight years’ time. Its rivals for the votes of FIFA officials are Russia, and joint bids from Spain/Portugal and Belgium/Netherlands.

David Cameron’s Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, was expected to join his bid team but in what could be interpreted as either a sign of confidence or an acknowledgment of defeat, his office announced today that he wouldn’t be going to Zurich.

It is still unclear whether there will be 22 or 23 votes cast on Thursday, after another official suspended from FIFA following separate corruption allegations by the Sunday Times still has to waive his right to an appeal in order to be replaced on the voting body.

Bid teams have a last chance to win over the FIFA officials with an hour-long final presentation.

Teams vying to host the 2022 World Cup – Australia, South Korea, Qatar, USA and Japan – go first, on Wednesday afternoon. England and the other 2018 hopefuls follow on Thursday morning – with the official announcement made on Thursday afternoon.