England 2018 Launch
On May 18, 2009 the England Bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ was launched at Wembley with the backing of Prince William, the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and some of the greatest names in English football.
See images from the bid launch on flickr
David Beckham, who is one of the England 2018 Vice Presidents, gave the bid his complete support alongside Manchester United and England’s Wayne Rooney and five members of the 1966 World Cup winning squad Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Geoff Hirst, Martin Peters, Norman Hunter and Peter Bonetti.
Beckham also talked of the passion of the English fans and pride England players would feel in playing in a World Cup in front of their home crowd.
The ceremony was kicked off by Lord Triesman, Chairman of the Football Association and also of the bid committee, with a speech that underlined how hosting the FIFA World Cup™ would unite England, and also develop football, not just at grass roots level at home, but also in countries around the world.
Watch more videos from the England 2018 launch on our YouTube page
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