Beckham and Barnes add support to 2018 World Cup bid

England legend, David Beckham, and former England winger, John Barnes, have announced that they wish to join the country’s bid to host the Football World Cup in 2018. They will become vice-presidents of the newly-formed executive board that has a lot of work to do prior to the final vote, due to be made by FIFA in 2011.

John Barnes, who has recently been made manager of the Jamaican national team, admits that England need to try hard if they are to be successful in their bid. However, despite his new appointment as boss of the country in which he was born, Barnes remains fully committed to the England cause.

Likewise, David Beckham has spoken of his wish to “do everything possible" to bring the tournament to England. Beckham played an instrumental role in bringing the Olympic Games to London, acting as the public face for the country’s 2012 bid, and it is hoped that he can do the same for the World Cup bid.

John Barnes will be primarily used to further the profile of the bid in regions such as the Caribbean and Africa, whilst David Beckham will travel to the Far East to spread the word of England’s plans. Beckham is a popular figure in the Far East following trips made with Manchester United and Real Madrid, so this is a clever move from England 2018 Ltd, the company behind the World Cup bid.

The company will shortly announce further vice-presidents to add support to the executive board and it is hoped that other big names in the world of football will join Barnes and Beckham.

Although England failed to win their bid for the 2006 World Cup, which was hosted by Germany, the vice-president of Fifa has backed their bid for the 2018 tournament. Jack Warner believes that every other bid will fade into insignificance when viewed alongside England’s attempt.

England have not hosted the World Cup since 1966, the year in which they won the competition, and Warner believes that it is simply unacceptable for “any country of England’s football pedigree” to go without hosting a world cup for nearly 50 years.

The vice-president has also backed the appointment of David Beckham as the public face for England’s bid. He believes that Beckham’s universal appeal is comparable to the appeal of Pele and that his involvement will “bring a legitimacy to the bid”.

Further encouraging words for England’s bid have previously been spoken by the president of Fifa, Sepp Blatter. The president has spoken publicly about the fantastic “technical infrastructure”, organisational skills, and impressive, safe stadiums that the country can boast in its bid. He even followed these comments by saying that England is an example to the rest of the world.

David Beckham is currently helping the English national side in their quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, which will be hosted by South Africa. The 2014 tournament will be played in Brazil and hopefully, if Barnes and Beckham get their way, the subsequent tournament will be played on home soil.