• World Cup 2018

England's 2018 World Cup bid labelled 'arrogant'

Prince William and David Cameron had no place being at the 2018 World Cup bid, according to FIFA members © Getty Images

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The presence of Prince William and David Cameron in spearheading England's final presentation in Zurich backfired spectacularly, according to one of the FIFA voting committee, who has accused the FA of "arrogance".

While the inevitable and predictable recriminations, and so-far unproven accusations have been flying around, ESPNsoccernet has been investigating why exactly England were humiliated by receiving only one vote apart from their own former FA chairman Geoff Thompson.

High-level sources have told ESPNsoccernet that a member of the FIFA executive committee has privately branded the England bid as "arrogant", and cited the presence of the heir to the throne and the Prime Minister as an example of "an air of arrogance."

Russia's President Vladimir Putin opted not to be part of the final presentation, which was viewed (24 hours before the votes were cast) as a major setback for Russia, and the boost England needed to cross the finishing line. As it turned out, Putin thought that it would be best not to follow the English example of going "over the top" and so stayed away, only arriving once Russia had won the vote.

ESPNsoccernet's source said: "I received a call from one of the FIFA executive committee who said that there has been an air of arrogance about the England bid, and that sending the Prince and Prime Minister epitomised that arrogance.

"I could see the point he was making, that it was supposed to be a football vote, and the England bid was turning into a political one. There is genuine sympathy being shown from around the world that England didn't win the bid, but there are a lot of people pleased that Qatar won 2022 as it will provide a different dimension to the whole of the Arab world, which is seen as a positive thing."

The direction of president Sepp Blatter to the executive committee minutes before they cast their votes stated his personal desire to expand the global brand and deploy the World Cup in new territories. With South Africa chosen for 2010, and now firsts for Russia and the Middle East, it now appears that the England bid was doomed from the outset.

The media's intrusive coverage was the final nail, which convinced even England's staunchest backers that it was not worth going against the will of Blatter. Indeed, Blatter's personal preference to open up new territories, in turn, will also cement votes when it comes to his re-election as FIFA president.

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