Paul the Octopus backs England 2018 bid
After the media clung to Howard Webb as an English World Cup success story, some sniggered that it was a matter of time before attempts were made to claim Paul the Octopus , the "mystic mollusc" who had a 100 per cent prediction success rate at the tournament, as he was hatched in Weymouth.
The brains in charge of England's 2018 World Cup push have decided to go one better than that though in a desperate effort to latch onto the creature's fame (albeit at least a month too late) by naming him as an official ambassador for the bid - seriously!
They've demeaned fellow bid backer John Barnes by attributing the following quote to the former England international: "Paul the Octopus is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in football so news of him becoming an official England 2018 Ambassador is tremendous for the Back the Bid campaign."
Equally comical are the comments of Weymouth Sea Life Centre manager Nicola Hamilton: "Paul has spent the last two years of his life in Germany, but he is definitely a proud Englishman and is therefore delighted to put his support behind England 2018."
Will the big-name backing help England fight off the competition of Russia, Portugal and Spain and others? They're somehow the [2.2] favourites...
Published: 21 Aug 2010
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