Day of reckoning for England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup

The Sunday Times

England must win friends and influence people if their bid to host the 2018 World Cup is to overcome Russia and the Spain-Portugal joint bid

England's World Cup bid team are this weekend desperately trying to secure at least six first-round votes of Fifa executives for the 2018 tournament. Should England not manage that on Thursday, when voting takes place in Zurich, they would still survive the first round. But their chances of beating their main rivals, Russia, or the joint bid of Spain-Portugal, will be terminally weakened.

To make sure of the crucial sixth vote, England's attention has focused on the Japanese member, Junji Ogura. That is why Jeremy Hunt, the secretary of state for sport, accompanied Paul Elliott, the bid director, on the long trip to Kuala Lumpur to attend the 2010 Asian football awards. Normally this would not be on the agenda of a British cabinet minister but the presence of Hunt, a fluent Japanese speaker, was considered essential.