England submit bid for 2018 and 2022 World Cups

England's official bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup finals was delivered to soccer's governing body FIFA yesterday. David Triesman, chairman of the FA and of the bid committee, said in a statement: "Today marks another step forward on our journey...

England's official bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup finals was delivered to soccer's governing body FIFA yesterday.

David Triesman, chairman of the FA and of the bid committee, said in a statement: "Today marks another step forward on our journey to bring the World Cup to England and our team are focused on delivering the best bid possible to FIFA.

"By declaring our interest for both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments we are maximising our chances of winning the right to host the world's greatest sporting occasion."

Following the February 2 deadline, FIFA said it had received formal expressions of interest from Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Qatar, Russia and United States as well as joint bids from Belgium and Netherlands and Spain and Portugal.

FIFA has yet to finalise the exact bidding process which will involve a simultaneous contest for two World Cup finals for the first time.

The decision on both tournaments will be made in December 2010.

England last hosted the World Cup in 1966 when the team also became champions for the only time.

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