No Gray Areas - 2018 bid will end in failure
With the venue for the 2018 World Cup set to be decided on Thursday, there are two questions at stake.
The first is: Should England host the tournament? My answer is an unequivocal, 100 per cent yes. England is a football nation, it has the best infrastructure of any of bidding nations. It would be easy for fans to get around from city to city and the stadia is already in place. Everything is there for England to host the World Cup in 2018.
It is an absolute disgrace that FIFA continually overlook England and that's coming from a Scotsman. Euro 1996 was a huge success, England will have the 2012 Olympic Stadium to bolster their already stellar list of venues and the country is capable of putting on a fantastic tournament. They should be given their chance.
The second question is: Will England host the 2018 World Cup. Sadly, I think the answer is no. I know that Russia are the [2.08] favourites on Betfair and I have a sneaky feeling that the markets have called it correctly.
I've been to Russia and, due to its immensity, it is a difficult country to get around. Maybe that's what Sepp Blatter and co want - a country where fans of rival nations will not rub up against each other - but I still think England ([3.3]) are far stronger candidates.
It will have been 52 years since 1966 by the time this tournament comes around. It really is a disgrace that England have been overlooked on so many occasions and I am really hoping that FIFA surprise me and the Betfair punters by bringing football home on Thursday.
Andy Gray is now on Twitter so follow him for his exclusive tips and his take on the biggest stories in football each week.
Published: 1 Dec 2010
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