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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Ministers back World Cup 2018 bid | Ministers back World Cup 2018 bid |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| An English bid to host the 2018 football World Cup would be backed by the government, ministers have pledged. | An English bid to host the 2018 football World Cup would be backed by the government, ministers have pledged. |
| An official study into the project has concluded that England is well-placed to stage the competition. | An official study into the project has concluded that England is well-placed to stage the competition. |
| Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said hosting the World Cup would be fantastic for the whole of the UK. | |
| The final decision on tabling a bid lies with the Football Association, which spent millions on an unsuccessful attempt to host the 2006 competition. | |
| Chancellor Gordon Brown and sports minister Richard Caborn have also given their backing to the bid. | |
| Mr Brown and Ms Jowell are due to visit the new Wembley Stadium to launch the report of the government's feasibility study on holding the 2018 contest. | |
| She told BBC Radio Five Live: "The FA will, in due course, make their decision. | |
| Unqualified | |
| "What Gordon Brown and I are showing today is that a World Cup bid would have unqualified Government support. | |
| "That was such an important part in winning an Olympic bid." | |
| The country has been weighing up a possible bid since late 2005. | The country has been weighing up a possible bid since late 2005. |
| England would be among early favourites to clinch the 2018 tournament, having not hosted the World Cup since 1966. | |
| It would also be the natural turn of a European nation after South Africa in 2010 and, it is thought likely, a South American location in 2014. | |
| The 2012 Olympics are not a nightmare Tessa Jowell, Culture secretary | |
| The government's study considered England's stadiums and infrastructure as well as the legacy and economic benefits hosting the cup would bring. | The government's study considered England's stadiums and infrastructure as well as the legacy and economic benefits hosting the cup would bring. |
| Researchers also canvassed public opinion, concluding that there would be widespread enthusiasm across Britain. | |
| Ms Jowell rubbished claims that the rising cost of the 2012 Olympics could hamper public support. | |
| She said: "The 2012 Olympics are not a nightmare, and nor are costs going up all the time. | |
| "Olympic Games, through the staging, make money." | |
| 606 DEBATE: Would you back the bid? | |
| BBC sports news correspondent Gordon Farquhar said that during its last bid the FA misjudged the internal politics of Fifa, world football's governing body. | |
| Before it bid again, the association would want to ensure it had support at the highest level of the game, our correspondent said. | Before it bid again, the association would want to ensure it had support at the highest level of the game, our correspondent said. |
| Among the luminaries who have been quoted as saying they would support an English bid is German football legend Franz Beckenbauer - who masterminded Germany's bid for the 2006 tournament. | Among the luminaries who have been quoted as saying they would support an English bid is German football legend Franz Beckenbauer - who masterminded Germany's bid for the 2006 tournament. |
| And Ms Jowell insisted an English bid would be something people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would get behind too. | |
| "If any country in the UK were to host a global sporting event on this kind of scale, it becomes something that the whole of the UK becomes enthused by." | |
| Any FA bid would have to be submitted in 2010 before a decision late the following year. |