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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 commented:
“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.”
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For more information contact:
Dan Connolly – 07832 126775 / dan.connolly@thefa.com
Phil Mepham – 07765237 236 / phil.mepham@thefa.com
Notes to Editors
England 2018 World Cup Bid
• The World Cup Bid was officially launched in May 2009 at Wembley Stadium by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, England 2018 Chairman David Triesman and England 2018 Vice-President David Beckham
• England is one of eight competitors bidding to host the 2018 tournament and one of 10 bidding to host the 2022 tournament. The decision for both tournaments will be announced in Zurich in December 2010
• The following Candidate Host Cities will be included in the England 2018 World Cup Bid: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle/Gateshead, Nottingham, Plymouth, Sheffield and Sunderland
• Personalities from the worlds of sport, politics, music, television and Royalty have ‘Backed the Bid’, including: HRH Prince William, current England stars John Terry and David Beckham along with Manager Fabio Capello, Formula One champs Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, legendary rocker Noel Gallagher and pop icon Sting
• Visit www.england2018bid.com for more information
Paul Elliott MBE
Paul is an England 2018 Board Member. He is also an International Ambassador to FIFPro (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionels) and is an ambassador for both FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe) and Kick It Out, the campaign to eradicate racism from football.
In addition, he works as a Trustee for the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) and is a panel member with the Inclusion and Diversity Committee for LOCOG (London Organising Committee Olympic Games)
During his football career, Paul played for: Charlton Athletic, Luton Town, Aston Villa, Pisa, Bari, Celtic and Chelsea. He represented England at youth and under-21 level, was a captain of England ‘B’ and an England senior squad member.
England 2018 Inclusivity Advisory Group (IAG)
The IAG includes 11 specialists who aim to ensure that the England 2018 bid demonstrates that a World Cup hosted in England will enthusiastically celebrate diversity and promote inclusivity of all members of society. The group is chaired by non-executive board member Paul Elliott MBE, and will advise England 2018 on all aspects of inclusivity to ensure that England’s bid builds on English football’s positive record of inclusion. The group includes:
Piara Powar, Director, Kick It Out; Lorraine Deschamps, Sporting Equals Trustee, FA Get Into Football Ambassador; Panikos Efthimiou, Campaigns Officer, Gay Football Supporters’ Network; Joyce Cook, Chair, National Association of Disabled Supporters (NADS); Roisin Wood, Senior Development Manager, Equalities and Diversity, The Football Foundation; Jeff Davis, National Development Manager (Disability), The FA; Rachel Pavlou, National Development Manager (Women's), The FA; Jonathan Mills, Equality Coordinator, The FA; Simon Johnson, Chief Operating Officer, England 2018; Beth Nicholls, Head of Legacy Development, England 2018.
The FA International Development Programme
The FA’s International Development Programme (IDP) was established in 2000 to play a full role in the development of football around the world with a view to improving the standards of coaching, refereeing and football administration in line with FIFA’s development goals.
In the past decade The IDP has reached thousands of people through its projects all over the world including each of the six FIFA Confederations.
AFC - Asia
The Football Association signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Asian Football Confederation in 2000 to assist in raising the standards of football and football administration in Asia. FA instructors have delivered courses in Strategic Planning for Coaches, Youth and Senior Level Coaching and Goalkeeping. The AFC, led by FIFA Executive Committee member, Mohamed Bin Hammam, has embraced The FA's learning philosophy which underpins all of The FA's education programmes. The FA currently delivers a range of workshops every January aimed at AFC Elite Instructors from across the continent. These address Generic Tutor Training, Refereeing (including Women's refereeing), Coach Education and Disability Football.
CAF - Africa
The English FA has three partner countries in Africa under the auspices of the UEFA-CAF Meridian Project which partners European national associations with those in Africa. Since 1998, The FA has worked with its three partners, Botswana, Lesotho and Malawi, helping them to develop their football infrastructure through training and education programmes. Additionally, The FA signed an agreement with the South African FA to assist their referee development in the run up to the 2010 World Cup. The FA also has an international charity partner in the shape of Coaching for Hope which seeks to engage and educate young people through sports and the arts. The FA has supported their work in Burkina Faso, Mali and South Africa.
CONMEBOL - South America
The English FA-CONMEBOL Co-operation Programme was launched in September 2003 when former FA Chairman Geoff Thompson led an FA delegation to Paraguay to deliver workshops on Coaching Strategies and Marketing & Administration. CONMEBOL President, Nicolas Leoz, a member of the FIFA Executive Committee, counter-signed the agreement as a positive endorsement of South America's desire to forge closer links with England. Since then, a range of seminars and workshops have been staged across the continent, covering subjects such as Stadium Safety & Security in Peru, Chile and Ecuador, Refereeing in Ecuador and Tournament Management in Peru.
CONCACAF - North America, Central America and the Caribbean
The English FA has a long-standing relationship with the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football to help develop football in the region. In April 2000, The FA's signed a Co-operation Agreement with CONCACAF President and FIFA Vice President Jack Warner. This committed The FA to a programme of assistance in the region. Since then, CONCACAF member associations have benefited from an annual FA International Coaching Licence Course as well as training in Refereeing, Marketing, Administration, Media Relations and Women's Football Development.
OFC - Oceania
The English FA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the President of the Oceania Football Confederation, Reynald Temarii, also a member of the FIFA Executive Committee, in 2006. The aim is to assist Technical and Referee Development across the region. Specifically, it comprises a partnership agreement with two of the Member Associations, Fiji and the Solomon Islands, ranked 2nd and 3rd in Oceania respectively. The focus is on training coaching and refereeing instructors, reflecting the 'train the trainers' ethos of The FA's International Development Programme.
UEFA - Europe
Former FA Chairman Geoff Thompson was elected to the position of Vice President of UEFA in 2002 and was unanimously re-elected to the Executive Committee in 2004 by the greatest margin in any comparable election in The FA's history. In development terms, The English FA actively participates in the UEFA-CAF Meridian Project which partners European national associations with countries in Africa. The FA also supports the Israel FA in its efforts to eradicate racism from its football. Aligned to this, The FA is a supporter of the annual Football 4 Peace festival organised in northern Israel by the University of Brighton and the British Council.
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