Ferguson bolsters England’s 2018 bid

Alex Ferguson and Manchester United great Sir Bobby Charlton will be among those guiding the six-man FIFA team inspecting England’s 2018 World Cup bid around Old Trafford on Wedesday

United manager Ferguson was in no doubt of England’s suitability to stage the World Cup, saying: “The facilities for both players and fans are magnificent, from training grounds to stadia and the passion of the English people for the game would ensure that everybody would be made to feel welcome.

“It would be a memorable occasion and would inspire people all over the world,” the Scot added.

Russia are seen as England’s main rivals to stage the 2018 World Cup.

But FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who has already praised Russia’s bid, said it would be “easy” to hold the competition in England.

Blatter, speaking to the insideworldfootball website, from Singapore on Monday, said: “The easiest way to organise the World Cup is to go to England.

“Everything is there — fans, stadiums, infrastructure — it’s easy.”

However, as for Russia’s bid, he added: “You cannot deny Russia if they bid for something. They are a big continent, a big power.”

Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn welcomed the FIFA team to the Stadium of Light on Wednesday.

The former Republic of Ireland striker got them involved in an impromptu penalty shoot-out on the pitch only for his own effort to fly over the crossbar.

“It’s funny – they have been travelling around visiting stadiums, visiting hotels, visiting base camps and getting a lot of stuff like that done,” Quinn said.

“All of a sudden, there’s a chance to kick a ball into a net and their eyes lit up.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t follow them on. I took a terrible penalty myself. It gave them something to laugh about, anyway.”

Quinn said he had no idea how England’s bid was being perceived by the FIFA team but cautioned against the suggestion put forward by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg earlier this week that it was “unbeatable”.

“The passion for it hopefully will be paramount in their minds when they sit down and write their reports and they say, ‘Hey, do you know something, those people up in the north-east, they wanted this so badly, they prepared and they ticked the right boxes’,” Quinn said.

“Have we done that? I can’t possibly say. I certainly wouldn’t be as confident as the deputy prime minister – that’s not the way we should be thinking.”

A report published by global accoutantcy firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers suggested a World Cup in England would generate three billion pounds and Britain’s Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said: “This would help us build a lasting legacy from the tournament — using football as a force for good around the world that would build on the work the FA (Football Association) does on international development.

The FIFA team was greeted by Clegg at Downing Street on Monday and met with England manager Fabio Capello before taking a tour of Wembley Stadium. Their inspection visit concludes on Thursday.

England has staged the World Cup just once, in 1966, when a team featuring Charlton also won the tournament for the only time in England’s history.

They are also competing with the United States, and joint bids from Spain and Portugal, and Holland and Belgium to host the 2018 tournament.

The winning bids for the 2018 and the 2022 World Cup will be revealed on December 2. The 2014 tournament will be held in Brazil.