EPL chief quits England´s 2018 World Cup bid team

England’s struggling bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals suffered another setback on Tuesday when English Premier League (EPL) chairman Dave Richards resigned from the board.

Richards, in a letter to David Triesman, the chairman of both the bid and England’s governing Football Association, said he would continue to support the campaign but no longer wanted to be a board member.

His move came just 10 days after Triesman, already under fire for a dual role which his critics maintain does not leave him with enough time to devote to the bid, had tried to calm rising tensions by streamlining the board.

Richards said in a statement: “My positions as Premier League chairman, FA board member and chairman of the FA’s international committee provide me with ample opportunities to bang the drum for English football, and the bid particularly, right across the world, which I will continue to do wherever and whenever I can.

“My belief is that England has all the right attributes to host a successful FIFA World Cup, our challenge now is to convince the 24 members of FIFA’s ExCo (executive committee) of that.

“This must be our focus and priority going forward.”

Recent concerns surrounding the bid were sparked several weeks ago when FIFA vice-president Jack Warner described England’s approach as “lightweight” and there were also rows over reduced government funding.

This was followed by revelations that the England team were giving designer handbags to the wives of FIFA members.

Warner returned the gift and sent an angry letter to Triesman.

Richards’s resignation will be viewed by many within English football, and beyond, as an example of the strained relations that have existed between the FA and the Premier League ever since Triesman publicly criticised clubs’ debts in October 2008.

Both Richards and EPL chairman Richard Scudamore were both ignored when Triesman put the original bid team together until, reportedly, bid chief executive Andy Anson urged Triesman to bring Richards on board in a bid to make use of the EPL’s extensive international contacts.

A joint bid from Spain and Portugal is considered the main opposition to England, while Russia and Australia are also among leading contenders. The host city will be chosen in December 2010.