NEWS > West Midlands united to back 2018 World Cup bid
Published: Monday, 17 May, 2010
As a Football Association delegation led by David Beckham handed over a final copy of the England 2018 World Cup bid to FIFA in Zurich on 14 May 2010, a simultaneous event at Villa Park saw stakeholders and club representatives from across the West Midlands come together to show their support. Accompanied by children from Hodge Hill School, who
As a Football Association delegation led by David Beckham handed over a final copy of the England 2018 World Cup bid to FIFA in Zurich on 14 May 2010, a simultaneous event at Villa Park saw stakeholders and club representatives from across the West Midlands come together to show their support. Accompanied by children from Hodge Hill School, who handed in Birmingham’s original bid at Wembley in November, the Stakeholder Group supported by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands took delivery of a ‘Lite’ version of the official England bid which fully outlines the extent to which the West Midlands will feature in an England World Cup should the bid be successful
With Villa Park as the main match venue, the final bid reveals that the Premier League homes of Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Stoke City, together with Walsall’s Banks’s Stadium, Shrewsbury Town’s Prostar Stadium and home of international athletics, Birmingham Alexander Stadium, will be used as prestige training grounds. Sports facilities at the University of Warwick are also set to welcome the cream of world football talent, whilst the NEC and Cannon Hill Park will provide the carnival atmosphere of official Fan Festivals. Birmingham City University’s Pavilion facility could also be home to a ‘Football for Hope’ tournament. Hotels also play a key part in the proposition, with several named as potential team base camps throughout the tournament (see details of clusters at the bottom of this document).
As well as providing a veritable feast of football, fun and culture across the region, it is also estimated that the Birmingham economy alone would benefit to the tune of around GBP150m. The estimated national economic impact figure is in the region of GBP3.2billion.
A successful England bid also opens possibilities for various events related to the tournament, with venues such as the NEC, NIA and ICC likely to bid for events including the tournament draw and FIFA Congress, while the University of Birmingham could provide an idyllic setting for the referees’ workshop. A host of the region’s events and banqueting venues including Town Hall, Aston Hall, Soho House and Barber Institute could also be utilised by visiting teams and FIFA delegations for hospitality, workshops and conventions.
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