World Cup host battle goes to the wire
Cameron’s Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin confirmed he would not be travelling to Switzerland for today’s vote.
Prime Minister Putin also claimed Russia faced “unscrupulous competition”, a remark which could be seen as criticism of the bidding process organised by football’s world governing body FIFA.
The Russian bid and a joint one from Spain and Portugal are seen as England’s main rivals.
However, the Candidatura Iberica bid also suffered a possible setback when it emerged that Portugal and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo would not be joining their delegation because of an ankle injury.
After a whistle-stop trip to Westminster, Cameron got back on a plane to join Prince William and David Beckham ahead of today’s decision by FIFA’s executive committee.
His spokesman told reporters: “The assessment at the present time is that it is going to go to the wire.”
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Cameron said: “We have got the stadia, we have got the facilities, we have the transport networks, we have the enthusiasm in our country for football, and we can put on an absolutely first-class World Cup.”
Former England captain Beckham said FIFA members could be trusted to choose the best country.
“I think that we can trust every one of the members,” he said.
“At the end of the day, they are football people and they are going to want a World Cup in the best country that they think could host the biggest sporting event in the world.”
Less than a quarter of the English public believe England will win the right to host the 2018 World Cup, a survey has found.
The YouGov poll found 24% of English people think England will win, with 58% optimistic in Spain and Portugal, and 39% of Russians thinking they would win the bid.
Only 27% of Belgians and 24% of Dutch respondents thought their countries’ joint bid would succeed.
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