England stands by to host 2014 World Cup finals
Baku, December 21 (AZERTAC). The FA are ready to bring the World Cup finals to England in 2014 if Brazil cannot host the tournament.
People Sport can reveal that senior FA figures have already discussed the rescue plan and will sort out their strategy and timings at a meeting this week.
Just a couple of weeks after FIFA humiliatingly snubbed England’s attempt to bring football home in 2018, a surprise chance has emerged to do it sooner.
The FA are ready to open diplomatic talks with FIFA officials, including hate-figure Sepp Blatter, to volunteer to take over from Brazil if they fail to get their stadia and airports built in time.
And, in a cute twist, the FA will use Blatter’s own words against him as they lobby their long-shot case. The FIFA president admitted during the run-up to the crucial vote that he believed England “could host the World Cup tomorrow”.
The quality grounds shown here prove he is right.
Brazil have been monitored by FIFA since winning the vote for 2014. Progress is slow but there are no fears just yet.
However, FIFA will have to make a decision - ironically, at about the time London will be hosting the summer 2012 Olympics.
There is a precedent for changing the venue for the finals.
Four years before the 1986 competition Colombia, considered an odd choice at the time, said economic problems meant they could not, after all, stage the big event and Mexico stepped in to host the tournament won by Argentina.
I understand Roger Burden, the outgoing FA chairman, is in favour of the attempt, as are a couple of experienced and shrewd backers.
But they will need to get their game plan right.
The new England blueprint would have to update the facilities that would be available in 2014 - with some of the proposed grounds in the original bid not going to be ready and other 2018 projects shelved.
England had included a group of new grounds from Plymouth through to Bristol, Nottingham and Tottenham.
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