Capello joins 2018 bid
England Manager Fabio Capello is among the latest list of Vice- Presidents who will join the Bid to bring the World Cup tournament to England in 2018.
England international David Beckham, former international John Barnes and England National Women’s coach Hope Powell have already been appointed to support the seven-strong Executive Board in Ambassadorial roles and Capello is one of six further Vice-Presidents announced today by the Bid Company, England 2018 Ltd.
Joining Capello are: Geoff Thompson, Peter Kenyon, Gordon Taylor, Lord Nicholas Stern and Sir Terry Leahy. The Vice- Presidents will all provide specific expertise to the overall Bid strategy.
Fabio Capello was appointed England Manager on 14 December 2007. Previously, he managed AC Milan (twice), Roma, Juventus and Real Madrid (twice) and has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with each club side he has managed.
Capello said: "I’m very happy to become a Vice-President to the 2018 World Cup bid and I shall do everything I can to help England’s cause. This is an opportunity to offer England’s future players the chance to represent their country in front of their own fans and as national coach I know what an exciting prospect that is.
"My prime responsibility is to build a national team that will compete at the highest level, but if I can also help to strengthen England’s claims to stage the World Cup tournament I shall consider it a tremendous honour."
Geoff Thompson is a former FA Chairman and is a current member of FIFA’s Executive Committee. Thompson said: "As a member of the Executive Committee, it is especially poignant for me that my home Association is bidding to host a World Cup tournament and I am delighted that I shall be able to support the process in this role as a Vice-President of the Bid team.
"As FA Chairman, I was part of the decision to make this bid for the 2018 World Cup and there would be a tremendous sense of achievement for everyone involved if we reached our ultimate aim. This Bid is an opportunity to showcase the facilities, expertise and enthusiasm the entire nation can provide for the benefit of the world’s greatest tournament, but we have to earn the right to stage it. I look forward to working with everyone involved in championing England’s cause."
Peter Kenyon has been Chief Executive of Chelsea Football Club since January 2004 and is a highly-respected football administrator around Europe and across the entire football world. Before moving to Stamford Bridge, he held identical office with Manchester United at Old Trafford. He previously held the position of Operations Director and then Managing Director at Sportswear company Umbro UK.
Kenyon said: "I am delighted to have been asked to represent the 2018 bid as a Vice-President. All of us in England want to see the world's greatest tournament in our country. Not only is it an opportunity to showcase our stadia, our hospitality and our cities but it can also act as a catalyst for English football to unite together and find common ground on other issues."
Gordon Taylor was appointed Secretary/Chief Executive to the Professional Footballers’ Association in 1981, a year after joining the PFA in a full-time capacity. In 1994 he was appointed President of FIFPro, the International Association of Football Players’ Unions. He retired from the position in 1994 and is now Honorary President. As a player he played over 500 League games for Bolton, Birmingham, Blackburn and Bury. He is a fully qualified FA Coach and was awarded the OBE in 2008 for services to sport.
Gordon Taylor said: "I am delighted to be part of England's bid to host the World Cup in 2018. It has been a long time since 1966 and I feel the progress we have made since that time with regard to our top quality all-seater stadiums, crowd control, successful anti-racism programmes and community social responsibility programmes throughout the world, together with the cosmopolitan nature of our domestic league, makes us fully deserving of the opportunity.
Sir Terry Leahy was appointed Chief Executive of Tesco PLC in March 1997. He has been a tireless supporter of Tesco’s partnership with the FA’s Soccer Skills programme and his global reputation as a commercial leader will allow him to carry his Ambassadorial role for the Bid throughout the world.
Sir Terry said: "Through our work with the FA Tesco Skills Programme, I know just how much it would mean to young people to bring the World Cup to England in 2018. It's something we would all be able to get behind, and 'm delighted to play my part in supporting England's bid."
Nicholas Stern, Lord Stern of Brentford, was head of the UK Government Economic Service from 2003-2007 and Chief Economist of the World Bank from 2000-2003. He was Head of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, which was published in October 2006, reporting to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2005-2007. He is IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government at the LSE and Chairman of its Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. He is an adviser to the Global Chair of HSBC on Economic Development and Climate Change.
Lord Stern said: "We can make this the most powerful force for the international development of sport, in poor and rich nations, that the world has ever seen. And in so doing, we can make it the greenest. For example, we can keep greenhouse gas emissions to a minimum through our organisation of transport in the UK. And we can offset the inevitable emissions from aircrafts via the best of economic development programmes. The feast of football must be shared and it must be kind to the planet. It is an honour to be part of a bid that can deliver a festival for the UK, a leap forward for world football and a major contribution to the world’s economic development."