Beckham to sway FIFA for 2018 vote

England star David Beckham is hoping to play a crucial role in helping his country win the hosting rights to the 2018 World Cup.

The LA Galaxy midfielder will head to Zurich to give the England bid one final boost ahead of FIFA’s announcement on Thursday of the host countries for the 2018 and 2022 events.

Beckham is part of a strong bidding representative for England, including British Prime Minister David Cameron and Prince William.

“We are going to FIFA and a lot of delegates because we need to tell those people about why we feel it is the right thing for us to get the World Cup,” Beckham said.

“I feel that at the end of the day it is down to what the bid team have done. England have a history and tradition (in football) and it is about the benefits that can be generated by having the World Cup in England.”

“Obviously it is something that people have worked hard for and quite a long time for, and now it is up to the next few days.”

Meanwhile, Russian captain and Arsenal midfielder Andrei Arshavin believes that giving the 2018 hosting rights to Russian would stamp a ‘human legacy’ on his native land.

”Hosting it here would open up new minds and new hearts for the game. It would be a completely new chapter for the FIFA World Cup itself,” Arshavin wrote in an article for goal.com.

”Secondly, it would galvanise our game at every level. For me as a footballer, the grassroots game, coaching and education, training opportunities and of course stadiums, play a pivotal role in the sport.”