UK Sports minister Richard Caborn has reaffirmed England’s desire to host the 2018 World Cup, and insists he is not worried by competition from the USA.
England and the United States are expected to be rivals for the tournament with Australia also touted as possible hosts.
Caborn will attend a meeting between Chancellor Gordon Brown and FIFA president Sepp Blatter in London on Wednesday.
He told PA Sport: “We expect that there will be prestigious countries bidding and that we will be up against stiff competition – that’s exactly why we are doing what we are doing now.
“We are making it clear both to FIFA, UEFA and the other footballing authorities we would make a serious bid.
“Sepp Blatter is a member of the IOC and he has seen at first hand how the UK can put a bid together and I understand that he was very impressed with what we did for the 2012 Olympics.
“The feasibility report says we have stadia ready now and coming on stream. We must have the best stock of stadia anywhere in the world, and Wembley will be the best stadium of any in the world – a fantastic venue in which to stage a World Cup final.”
The World Cup is expected to return to Europe for that year, and with England having not hosted the finals since 1966, they are seen as prime candidates for 2018.
Caborn added: “The meeting is to primarily inform the FIFA president of what we are doing in terms of preparation for a possible bid for the 2018 World Cup.
“We will tell Mr Blatter that, if the FA do decide to bid for the World Cup, they have got our full support.
“Gordon is also interested in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and we will be looking to explore how we can co-operate through FIFA to help them for that tournament.
“We want to be involved in that World Cup, and I’ve no doubt Gordon will also be talking about the state of Scottish football!”
