The London Development Agency (LDA) received more than 670,000 suggestions for the bridge’s name, including many from fans in rival countries seeking to hijack the competition. But a three-strong panel rejected overseas pressure in favour of five names characterising Wembley’s long, varied and glorious history.

The LDA has teamed up with BBC Radio Five Live for the vote, which begins today - exactly a year before the stadium opens for the 2006 FA Cup Final.

Voting will be online at www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive and runs throughout the last week of the football season to midnight on 22 May. The winner will be announced on Five Live Breakfast on Monday 23 May. Further information about the bridge and the competition is on www.lda.gov.uk/wembley.

The five names are:

Sir Alf Ramsey - As England manager for 12 years and 113 matches, he masterminded England’s greatest footballing triumph – winning the World Cup at Wembley in 1966. The late Sir Alf was heralded for his dignity and the groundbreaking tactics that helped to lift the cup.

Sir Bobby Charlton - A great player and a true ambassador for the sport, Sir Bobby scored the two goals that put England into the World Cup final. He scored a record 49 times for England in 106 games, but is equally hailed for his sense of fair play.

Sir Geoff Hurst - England hero Sir Geoff is the only man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, the third ballooning in the back of the German net to the immortal words "They think it’s all over… it is now". Scored 248 goals in 499 games for West Ham.

The White Horse - A Wembley legend. 250,000 people swarmed into the stadium, crowding onto the pitch for the first Wembley Cup Final in 1923, before PC George Scorey and Billy the White Horse rode on to restore order. It became known as the White Horse Cup Final.

Live Aid - Twenty years ago, 13 July 1985 to be exact, an estimated 1.8 billion people worldwide tuned in to watch the marathon concert at Wembley to raise money for famine victims in Africa. A defining moment not just in the history of the stadium, but of the world.

BBC Five Live listeners will have the chance to hear the names debated and championed throughout next week.

One notable name missing from the list is 1966 World Cup captain Bobby Moore. There is already a Bobby Moore bridge near Wembley Park tube - named in September 1993 - and further tributes to the England legend are planned.

The three panelists - BBC Five Live’s Jonathan Pearce, LDA executive director Tony Winterbottom and Wembley Stadium’s chief executive Michael Cunnah - argued their way through the nominations.

Jonathan Pearce said: "It wasn’t easy deciding the shortlist and some great names had to be left out, but these five all deserve to be commemorated. This is going to be a tough vote - but at last this is an election to fire the public imagination."

Michael Cunnah said: "The 1966 World Cup was such an important moment in this nation’s sporting history, it is fitting that three of the heroes of the day are on the shortlist.

"Sir Bob Geldof’s Live Aid was a phenomenal occasion and is a reminder that the stadium is about more than football. And for the purists and history lovers, we had to include the White Horse."

The LDA website was stretched beyond capacity for the first round of the naming competition as 670,000 people made nominations and millions more logged on to the site.

As the debate raged, the bridge’s name became the subject of Parliamentary motions in both Westminster and Edinburgh, and people have even demanded details under the Freedom of Information Act.

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has played a major role in driving forward the new national stadium and developments around it, and through his LDA and Transport for London is investing more than £120m in the Wembley area.

Alongside major public transport improvements, this includes building the footbridge, a new town square, contributing to the stadium project itself, business support and training to help people take advantage of new job opportunities.