England targeting "lasting legacy"

Paul Elliott discusses football development at Global Sports Forum

England 2018 board member, Paul Elliott, has said the commercial strength of a World Cup in England would enhance football and social development opportunities across the world.
 
Speaking today at the Global Sports Forum in Barcelona, Elliott said: "The important thing in establishing a lasting legacy is to first ensure the event itself is a success. We believe England's bid is a low risk option because of the commercial strength of its marketplace and because the infrastructure is already in place. 
 
"With that platform and a committed and focused approach, it's possible to focus on a sustainable legacy programme that benefits the world for many years afterwards – and that's what we're setting out to do."
 
Former Chelsea captain, Elliott, was part of a panel hat discussed "Major sporting Events: From Bid to Legacy." The panel also included the former Marketing and Sponsorship Director for London 2012, Philip Beard, Bernard Lapasset, President of the International Rugby Board, Andisa Ntsubane, Senior Sponsorship Manager for Standard Bank and Pere Alcober from Barcelona City Council.
 
Paul Elliott, who is Chairman of the England 2018 Inclusivity Advisory Group, continued: "There's already a great deal of work being done by English football with community and international programmes across the country and across the world. Our aim is to build on that progress and host a World Cup tournament that can use its own success and the experience England has to promote a sustainable global legacy for future generations. 
 
"The FA's International Development Programme has been working on football, educational and social projects for ten years and the first phase of the Premier League's Premier Skills project has delivered 22 projects across 15 countries. We're aiming to harness that experience and the commercial strength we can offer to provide a world class legacy proposal within our submission to FIFA."