England United, the World invited

It is produced in England 2018’s signature animated style and has been designed to present a robust, graphical argument that depicts England as the country best positioned to host the 2018 World Cup.

The film is packed with facts that demonstrate the depth of passion for football in England as well as the credentials that make England a strong candidate: a love for football across the country, diverse communities, solid infrastructure, commercial maturity and existing football development programmes all point to the fact that a World Cup in the England would be good for football.

The first half of the film describes how “England would be honoured to host the World Cup”. It explains football is England’s national sport and - with seven million adults, and four in five boys and one in three girls playing the game - winning the Bid would be the country’s “ultimate dream”. England would host an “unforgettable tournament” spread right across the country.

The animation portrays how 3 million international visitors during an England 2018 World Cup would inject £3 billion into the economy and create a new generation of home grown talent, inspired by seeing the greatest players in the world in their own country. England has experience of hosting world-class events and is a mature commercial and broadcasting market, meaning England can throw “the biggest party we’ve ever seen”.

The second half of the film explains why “England should be chosen”, saying that England’s fantastic stadiums are already in place, and are filled by over three quarters of a million cheering fans from England’s diverse communities every week, meaning visiting fans and teams can expect an electric “home-from-home welcome”.

The film states that England already invests £190 million every year in football development across every FIFA confederation, and concludes by claiming that hosting a World Cup in England will enable the country “to work with even more countries, and more young players”.

‘England United. The World Invited’ is produced by animation studio Fade2 in London. It will be premiered at the World Cup Bidders’ Media Expo in Cape Town, South Africa, before going live on www.England2018bid.com and England 2018’s YouTube channel.