Arsenal legend Ian Wright and the Mayor of London Boris Johnson joined forces to mark the handover of the England 2018 World Cup bid to FIFA. They took receipt of London’s official copy of the final bid book to help fly the flag for the national campaign.
Joining them were budding young football stars from all 15 of London’s professional football clubs. To galvanize support for the bid, the clubs are working together to hold the first “London United Community Tournament”. The match will take place at Chelsea FC’s training grounds on Saturday 5th June 2010, just one week before the opening of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Mayor Boris Johnson said: “It’s fair to say we Londoners are bonkers about the beautiful game and I’m delighted we’re a key part of England 2018’s proposals. Our fine sporting venues would be the perfect place to host a legion of exciting international matches. I congratulate our professional clubs for harnessing the World Cup momentum and unifying their community programmes for aspiring young footballers. I want to make sure we use this positive energy to get everyone backing England’s bid.”
Ian Wright said: “The cross has come in and all we need to do now is put it in the back of the net! Football is my greatest passion and it would be amazing if England were given the honour of staging the World Cup in 2018. English football fans are the best in the world – our passion and enthusiasm for the game is unrivalled. As a Londoner I know we’d do everyone proud by hosting some great events and its nice to see the kids here today showing their support by taking part in a community tournament. My message is quite simply – come on England!”
When London submitted its host city bid, it set out legacy proposals to help improve the lives of disadvantaged youngsters. The Mayor, who is chair of London United, the group co-ordinating support for the bid, hopes the 15 clubs working together on their community programmes will create a positive lasting legacy for the capital. The community tournament will see teenagers from each club’s Kickz programmes competing in an all day 7-a-side competition on June 5th. Kickz programmes target some of the most disadvantaged communities to develop young people’s confidence and skills through football.
London is a key host city for the England bid with proposed venues including Wembley, Arsenal Emirates, Tottenham Hostpur’s new stadium and the Olympic stadium. FIFA officials are expected to visit London later in the year as part of an inspection tour of bidding countries. The winning host country for 2018 and 2022 will be announced in December. The public are urged to register support for England’s bid at: http://www.england2018bid.com.
