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Chief executive Anson remains confident ahead of Thursday's vote

With the World Cup 2018 announcement due on Thursday, the England 2018 team have revealed their frustration and embarrassment at a BBC Panorama programme which has accused three Fifa executive committee members of corruption.

Chief executive Andy Anson criticised the timing of the programme, which was broadcast on Monday evening, and hit out at the BBC for releasing the potentially damaging allegations to England’s bid.

"We stand by our previous position that the BBC's Panorama did nothing more than rake over a series of historical allegations none of which are relevant to the current bidding process," an official statement from the bid team read.

"It should be seen as an embarrassment to the BBC."

The programme alleged that African confederation president Issa Hayatou, Brazil’s Ricardo Terra Teixeira and Nicolas Leoz of Paraguay had previously taken bribes.

Despite the allegations Anson, who is in Zurich with David Beckham, Prince William and other members of the bid team, remained confident that their bid could be successful against bids from Russia, Spain/Portugal and Holland/Belgium.

"The 2018 team are entirely focused on winning the bid for England," Anson said.

There were fears that the Panorama programme could damage England's chances, although Fifa have made no immediate comment on the Panorama programme and the accusations.

However, according to the Press Association, the Uefa president Michel Platini insisted the programme will not likely affect the bid and looked to reassure the England 2018 team.

"I don't think this [programme] will have an effect, no," Platini said.

"But I think what may affect the decision is the atmosphere going back a long time and what people have been writing about Fifa in the British press for many years."

A spokesman for the Panorama programme seemingly told the Press Association that their investigation was in the public interest and defended the timing of the programme.

"The programme is in the public interest and shows that some Fifa executives involved in making decisions about the 2018 bid have a history of taking bribes - and that Fifa has consistently failed to act," he commented.

"Delay until after the bid was not an option once it became clear that the winning nations might have been chosen by officials with a proven track record of corruption.

"The programme has uncovered new evidence linking current, long-serving members of the Fifa executive committee with systemic corruption."

And a statement from the BBC said that programme had obtained a confidential document from inside ISL that listed 175 secret payments made between 1989 and 1999.

"The payments total about $100 million [£64 million] and Panorama understands that most were bribes paid to a handful of senior Fifa officials," read a press release, according to the Press Association.