England Have To 'Earn The Right' To Host World Cup - Former Chelsea Star Paul Elliott

Former Chelsea star Paul Elliott has warned that the team behind the England 2018 World Cup bid cannot afford to rest on their laurels and assume FIFA will award them the tournament simply because of the country's rich footballing history.

England's bid process has not always run smoothly, with reported squabbling between members throwing plans off track.

Elliot, who is also on the 2018 bid board, accepts that the team needs to get its act together and prove it can host one of the world's biggest sporting events.

"We've got no divine right to host this," Elliot said at the Global Sports Forum in Barcelona on Wednesday.

"We've got to earn the right like everybody else and that's why I tend to look on the half-full end not the half-empty end when you're talking about the political side of it."

England were unsuccessful in a similar bid to host the 2006 tournament, which European rival Germany eventually earned the right to host. Elliot believes lessons have been learned from that failure.

"That's what we have done, we have learned from the experience of 2006 and think that has been the difference," he said.

"We've been very sensible, very measured and very humble in our approach. But we are also showing off our assets to let the world know what we've got and what this means to our country if we are fortunate enough to get the 2018 World Cup."

FIFA have recently been careful to ensure the tournament is rotated among different continents, with South Africa (this summer) and Brazil (2014) in line to host the next two tournaments.

With both countries reportedly facing some difficulties in getting organised before their respective tournaments, Elliot believes England will be an attractive choice for 2018.

"If you look at the current tournament in South Africa and the one coming up in 2014 in Brazil there are obvious benefits in terms of what the World Cup is doing for those two countries.

"I think FIFA are correct in doing what they have done where South Africa and Brazil are concerned and it has to be proportionately spread around the world.

"That is the social message of football, how it can be used to do so much within communities, within stadia and developing long-term infrastructure and legacy. Our aim is to provide that in 2018."

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