• England news

'Outraged' Burden to quit as FA chairman after failed bid

Roger Burden was expected to take on the role of FA chairman on a permanent basis in December © PA Photos

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: English media to blame for failed bid - Warner
  
• News: Anson calls for World Cup bidding reform
  
• News: England's 2018 World Cup bid labelled 'arrogant'
  
• News: World Cup voters blamed our media - Anson
  

England's failure to capture the rights to host the 2018 World Cup has led Roger Burden, the acting Football Association chairman, to pull out of the running for the role on a full-time basis.

According to England 2018 officials, up to six of the 22 FIFA executive committee members had promised to vote for England but, with only two votes carried, England's bid catastrophically failed in the first round.

Burden, who was appointed in May, admitted he could no longer place his trust in FIFA members after Russia were awarded the rights to stage the 2018 World Cup.

"I recognise that an important part of the role is liaison with FIFA, our global governing body," he said. "I am not prepared to deal with people whom I cannot trust and I have withdrawn my candidacy."

Burden, who will remain as acting chairman until a replacement is found, accepted that revelations in the Sunday Times and Panorama programme may have damaged England's bid but he could not fathom why they only picked up two votes.

"I am well aware that some of the UK media coverage could have upset some of the FIFA executive committee," he said in a letter to the FA. "We have a free press in our country and we all have to live with adverse comment from time to time.

"But there is no doubt that English football benefits from the media coverage that it receives and would have been given great coverage if we had brought the World Cup to England.

"I have no issue with Russia's winning bid. I am sure they will put on a great World Cup and I have congratulated them. We were equal top of FIFA's own technical assessment of the four bids. We were top of an independent assessment of the best commercial bids and our presentation on Thursday was widely acclaimed as the best of the 2018 and 2022 bids.

"Against this background, I am struggling to understand how we only achieved two votes. It is difficult to believe that the voting was an objective process. On top of that, Prince William, the Prime Minister and other members of our delegation were promised votes that did not materialise."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.