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England 2018 Bid Team Shuffles Its Pack
Six members drop out for new streamlined board...
13-Nov-2009 2:34:44 AM
Six members of England's 2018 World Cup bid team have stood down in an effort to streamline the board and speed up the decision-making process.
Manchester United chief David Gill and ex-Birmingham City director Karen Brady are among those to have vacated their positions, whilst former FA chairman Geoff Thompson has been added to the new board, headed by Lord Triesman.
The removed members, also including Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe, Sir Keith Mills, Sir Martin Sorrell and Simon Johnson, will instead become part of an advisory group, to be led by Brady.
Thompson's appointment to the board could be key. He was not included in the original bid team, having had a frosty relationship with current FA chairman and England 2018 bid chairman Lord Triesman. However Thompson is the only English member of the Fifa Executive Committee, the body which comprises the 24 men who vote on the World Cup hosts.
The changes were orchestrated by Lord Sebastian Coe and Sir Keith Mills, chairman and deputy chairman of the successful London 2012 Olympic bid respectively, and the move is seen as an attempt to make the bid more streamlined and less political, hence the removal of Sports Minister Sutcliffe.
Following the meeting Triesman said: "In our view these changes reflect a positive development and send a loud message of absolute determination to bring the World Cup tournament to England.
"We've got to a point where the England 2018 campaign requires focus, determination and where everybody involved has a specific purpose to help us win the bid."
Thompson added: "The World Cup bid is a tremendous opportunity for English football and the nation as a whole to showcase its facilities, its hospitality and its overall ability to stage the greatest tournament in the world."
Jonny Esthero
Manchester United chief David Gill and ex-Birmingham City director Karen Brady are among those to have vacated their positions, whilst former FA chairman Geoff Thompson has been added to the new board, headed by Lord Triesman.
The removed members, also including Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe, Sir Keith Mills, Sir Martin Sorrell and Simon Johnson, will instead become part of an advisory group, to be led by Brady.
Thompson's appointment to the board could be key. He was not included in the original bid team, having had a frosty relationship with current FA chairman and England 2018 bid chairman Lord Triesman. However Thompson is the only English member of the Fifa Executive Committee, the body which comprises the 24 men who vote on the World Cup hosts.
The changes were orchestrated by Lord Sebastian Coe and Sir Keith Mills, chairman and deputy chairman of the successful London 2012 Olympic bid respectively, and the move is seen as an attempt to make the bid more streamlined and less political, hence the removal of Sports Minister Sutcliffe.
Following the meeting Triesman said: "In our view these changes reflect a positive development and send a loud message of absolute determination to bring the World Cup tournament to England.
"We've got to a point where the England 2018 campaign requires focus, determination and where everybody involved has a specific purpose to help us win the bid."
Thompson added: "The World Cup bid is a tremendous opportunity for English football and the nation as a whole to showcase its facilities, its hospitality and its overall ability to stage the greatest tournament in the world."
Jonny Esthero
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