Bid latest

England has on Tuesday been confirmed as an official World Cup bidding nation with the delivery of a letter of intent to FIFA at their headquarters in Zurich.FIFA set a deadline of 2 February for all declarations of interest and England’s official confirmation was acknowledged in Zurich on Tuesday afternoon.

Bid Chief Executive, Andy Anson said: “Our intentions have obviously been well known for some time but there’s a real sense of significance and excitement in the fact that we’re now acknowledged as an official bidding nation.

"We believe we have a very strong case to bring the tournament to England and the challenge now is to put together a compelling presentation to showcase to the world.”