back to article Prince Wills and Cameron push England World Cup bid

Fifa's suits have gathered in Zurich to vote on the hosts of the 2018 World Cup later on Thursday. On Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron, Prince William and David Beckham flew into Switzerland to pitch the benefits of bringing football's greatest tournament back home to the country that invented the game. England's …

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  1. buckie
    IT Angle

    Fantastic attempt!

    [fx: desperate crowbaring sound]

    "The outcome of the bid opens up possible opportunities for domain name squatters. Whoever wins the announcement is a significant news event, which makes it a candidate for search engine manipulation in order to trick users into visiting scareware portals."

    :)

  2. Cameron Colley

    I think they missed a word.

    They meant to say England has "a third-world-class transport infrastructure".

    That aside I hope either I've left the country by 2018 or it's not hosted here -- football fans already cause enough disruption in these parts thank you very much.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      3rd world

      Not sure if you've ever been to the third world...I have travelled in various countries in Africa, and can assure you that in my experience, whilst our transport infrastructure is far from the best in the world, any third-world country would be happy to "suffer" what we have.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I believe

        I believe, sir, we call that "a joke"

      2. Tempest
        WTF?

        Try the ShangHai Maglev train - China's a developing country

        Not EVERY "Third World", I think the new syntax is 'emerging, would envy the mess that Thatcher created in UK transportation. It is a total, disorganised mess.

        Korea, 60-years after it emerged from war, is a world leader. The country next to mine, Vietnam, has a SINGLE, narrow gauge (1 metre) rail line connecting Ha Noi, in the north, and the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City.

        This single track carries about 15 express trains in both directions each day, along with freight and local trains. The difference is the mindset - trains ALWAYS leave on time, dead on time.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Coat

      @Cameron

      I think you should apologise for your remark. Particularly to those third-world countries who would be mightily peeved at your suggestion their transport system is as bad as that..

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Stop

      Not just in the UK

      to be fair, Germany and Belgium's transport infrastructure is fairly badly messed up thanks to the weather too right now.

  3. Paul Harrap
    IT Angle

    Climate Change

    Snow-based travel problems are unlikely to be a factor in June/July 2018.

    Unless climate change is coming more rapidly than we thought.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Prime Minister David Cameron, Prince William and David Beckham

    walked into a bar?

    I'm sure there's a joke ther somewhere, but it is probably on the UK taxpayers.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Am I alone ...

    in hoping that we don't get this event, and FIFA are brutally honest and say it's because of our crap transport infrastructure.

    And that 2012 is a disaster, with the eyes of the world seeing what Londoners, and the rest of the country have to put up with on a daily basis.

    1. MrCheese
      Boffin

      We should get it

      Since we've already blown millions on the Olympics we may as host the World Cup soon after to make use of all the stuff they'll otherwise rip down afterwards.

  6. Naich

    Obvious?

    In the light of the recent Panorama investigation, surely all they have to do is bung them a wedge of cash and the tournament is ours.

  7. Kevin Bailey
    Headmaster

    First pedant post - sorry...

    The host nation is not automatically in the finals.

    From Wikipedia:

    <quote>From the 1938 World Cup onwards, host nations received automatic qualification to the final tournament. This right was also granted to the defending champions between 1938 and 2002, but was withdrawn from the 2006 FIFA World Cup onward, requiring the champions to qualify. Brazil, winners in 2002, were the first defending champions to play in a qualifying match.</quote>

    1. Annihilator
      FAIL

      Read it again..

      That wiki article (great source finding by the way) states that the host nation gets an automatic pass to the finals, but that the defending champions don't. The clue is in the full stop separating the two conditions.

  8. a cynic writes...
    Headmaster

    Second pedant post

    "The hosts of the World Cup receive an automatic berth in the finals. Unlike many other sports, results of the previous World Cups or of the continental championships are not taken into account. Until 2002, the defending champions also received an automatic berth, but starting from the 2006 World Cup this is no longer the case."

    Also from wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup_qualification)

  9. Andy Livingstone

    IT connection?

    Not even an attempt to identify any relevance?

    Is the 1966 black and white film worn out yet?

    What the hell has it got to to with a Prime Minister? Doesn't he have a country (that'll be the UK - not just the province of England) to run?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Riiiight

      No he doesn't have the whole of the UK to run, just England. The rest of them have their own governents who simply take handouts for the English for the crimes of our ancestors and there is no IT angle, that's why it's in Odds and Sods fule

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Money

    And where is the money to pay for it coming from to pay for it, should it get to the UK? Not the tax payers again I hope.

  11. Fred Bauer

    Nice try....

    Having ridden both UK and Russian rail, I'll take the UK's system any day. Unfortunately, FIFA chose Russia.

  12. Kubla Cant

    Just asking

    "Football bosses will have to make a decision between hosting the world's greatest sporting event in either Russia, England, Spain / Portugal (joint bid) or Belgium / the Netherlands..."

    Why are football bosses deciding the venue for the next Olympics?

  13. Camilla Smythe

    New Stadium?

    "A new stadium would be built in Bristol and Milton Keynes is also likely to score a few games."

    How does that one work then? Do they build one half in Bristol and the other in Milton Keynes with a rail link between the two, terminus on the centre circle.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Coffee/keyboard

    On one hand 'we was robbed', on the other...

    It's a pity we didn't win hosting the world cup (nearly put 'winning the world cup', though that would be even more far fetched). It does go to show that the Russian mafia's bribery skills and FIFA's corrupt leadership work well together. I wonder how much oil money Qatar has bought the following world cup for? (**oh, the cynicism, I should write for the tabloids...**)

    On the other hand, at least the tax payer doesn't have to cough for anything else (after the Olympics, the royal wedding, the Ireland bailout.....).

    Maybe a lucky Esc (unlike the one pictured)?

  15. Jim Morrow
    Coat

    lost causes

    England's bid for the World Cup was doomed from the outset. Everything the FA does turns to shit.

    Wheeling out Prince Whatshisface, Cameron and Beckham was a desperate gesture that could only end in tears. And it duly did. No cause is irredeemably lost until any one of these three tossers are prodded into supporting it. Getting the box set just made sure the bid would lose. Badly.

    Oh well, let's go back and watch the "best league in the world". Wigan's playing Fulham tonight. It's on Sky Super Sports 6 in 3D HD. I can hardly wait.

  16. Tron Silver badge

    No one likes us, we don't care.

    The Russian people would, no doubt, like to extend their thanks to the Panorama team for not keeping quiet until after the voting and (after last night) to the people of Birmingham. Impeccable timing.

    Maybe we should return the favour and not flush millions in public money down the lavvy on that proposed waste-of-money rail route, so Brummie yobs can get to London half an hour quicker to chuck seats at away games. Spend it on snow clearance locos and winter-proofing for the rest of the network instead. It certainly needs it.

  17. Richard Porter
    Black Helicopters

    Money trumps Royalty

    Putin didn't attend. He probably knew everything was sewn up well in advance. If the Russians hadn't promised a big enough bung there was little they could do at the last minute.

  18. vic_vega66

    How many diamond encrusted rolexes?

    I wonder how much the Russians bunged the FIFA committee to secure the bid? A couple of hundred thousand quid each and a rolex do you think.

    Honestly though why on earth would we want the World Cup anyway, London would never cope with the extra traffic. The contractors would never be able to build enough poxy stadia for all the games in time and we'd have the unedifying sight of David Cameron kissing Seb Blatters bum for months.

    Plus the UK was nearly bankrupt last week yet it can suddenly afford a competition that will cost billions. *headdesk* its crazy. I can think of a billion more important things to spend a billion on than a poxy football tournament.

  19. JaitcH
    FAIL

    The BBC program will determine who does NOT get the selection

    These international sports fiefdoms, no pun intended, run on corruption whether it is football or even the Olympics.

    In reality they are no longer sports concerns, they are businesses and business monopolies at that.

    Even with royalty, either of the realm or football, or a politician pushing the UK bid, money will talk louder.

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