England Bid for World Cup 2018

[Rich Fox]

God Leicester fans are so negative we should stop playing the victim. Leicestershire has stolen the Battle of Bosworth from Atherstone and have made a load of money out of tourism when it is impossible for the battle to have taken place at Bosworth because henry Tudor and is army could not have made it from Merevale to the battle site with all there equipment and as for Nottingham Robin hood was from Yorkshire so stuff them. we should just look to the future and put another tier on the walkers and tell everyone what are great place Leicester is.

[DB11]

it is impossible for the battle to have taken place at Bosworth because henry Tudor and is army could not have made it from Merevale to the battle site with all there equipment

Wtf has that got to do with anything.

[Ultra]

For Nottingham to even get into the game, it has to build a stadium from scratch. Who is going to fund that? Even their backers aren't sure.

Leicester and Derby have been working with the FA and the government for weeks, long before Nottingham's bid was launched.

Both the Way and Pride Park have successfully staged international matches, acting as showcases for overseas audiences and putting ourselves on the map to overseas federations - the very people who will decide where future World Cups will be staged.

Past history will count for very little to such people.

[BlueSi13]

For Nottingham to even get into the game, it has to build a stadium from scratch. Who is going to fund that? Even their backers aren't sure.

Leicester and Derby have been working with the FA and the government for weeks, long before Nottingham's bid was launched.

Both the Way and Pride Park have successfully staged international matches, acting as showcases for overseas audiences and putting ourselves on the map to overseas federations - the very people who will decide where future World Cups will be staged.

Past history will count for very little to such people.

But whose going to fund our supposed stadium expansion? we've been as silent on the subject as Nottingham has, the City Ground has only 2,000 less seats than the Walkers and is arguably in a much prettier location with parks nearby for fan parks, big screens etc, imo opinion all Forest have to do is build a couple of new large stands and they've got it in the bag.....i really doubt if the FA or Fifa will be swayed by a meaningless friendly in Leicester against Serbia or in Derby against Mexico....

Nottingham has Forest, County, the Cricket (with Trent Bridge a world class venue and having recently hosted matches in the 20/20 world cup), the National Ice Centre where the Panthers play, and is host to the Nottingham open every year, so to say we are a better sporting city as somebody mentioned earlier is simply false.....

Somebody also mentioned the special olympics being held here, im sorry but i've seen the odd poster but the promotion for it has been embarrassing, its been so bad that i have no idea what's going on....where's it being held?, what sports will there be? whose taking part? its a farce....

Also somebody mentioned we might host the Rugby World Cup, does anybody really give 2 shits about that worldwide and in England as a whole? to compare it to the Fifa World Cup is ridiculous....

Im just hoping the City and the Club has something in the bag otherwise it was all over before it even started.

[Finchy]

... I wasn't comparing the rugby world cup to the Football world cup but it's bigger than the fookin 20/20 world cup.

[BlueSi13]

... I wasn't comparing the rugby world cup to the Football world cup but it's bigger than the fookin 20/20 world cup.

Really? Considering that almost everyone that plays rugby (barring France) are major powers in Cricket and then adding India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and the West Indies to the roster, id personally wager that Cricket is easily a bigger sport across the globe, especially as almost all of them have a chance of winning the competition rather than the usual 2 or 3 in the egg chasing....

[Finchy]

Ok I didn't phrase it well but I'm not claiming rugby is the bigger sport across the world I'm saying more people will come here for it than the 2020 WC so therefore it's a bigger event to hold.

[Matt]

Oasis and Kasabian stars put support behind England`s bid to host 2018 World Cup

With their respective bands set to rock Wembley Stadium over the coming days, Noel Gallagher and Serge Pizzorno showed their footballing colours by taking time out from rehearsals to back England`s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

Serge once harboured aspirations of playing for his beloved Leicester City, and Noel`s passion for football and all things Manchester City is legendary so the pair were keen to register their support at www.england2018bid.co.uk and help in England`s campaign to host the world`s greatest football tournament.

Manchester City fan Noel Gallagher said:

'Playing gigs in England, and in particular at Wembley, is always an amazing feeling with the fans that come to watch us creating an electric atmosphere. The buzz the nation would create if we were to host the World Cup in 2018 would be incredible - England lives and breathes football, from a professional level through to guys going out for a kick about with their mates and kids in the playground.'

'I`m proud to be supporting the England 2018 campaign and would encourage the entire nation to get behind it as well.'

Leicester City fan Serge Pizzorno said:

'The entire band is delighted to get behind England 2018. Everyone in England loves football and the tournament would create a huge wave of passion throughout the country.'

'We`re also really excited about Leicester bidding to become a Host City. The opportunity for England to host a World Cup is really amazing and the thought of games being played at the Walkers Stadium is incredible.'

Noel and Serge become the latest high profile names to join the official support campaign, which was launched by David Beckham earlier this month. It aims to secure two million signatories by the time the official bid is submitted to FIFA in December 2010. To back the bid, simply log on to www.england2018bid.co.uk

[davieG]

Sheffield get their bid publicised in the Times on line.

The fight for the right to host the 2018 World Cup finals is not just a battle between England, Spain, Australia, Russia and the rest. It is local as well as global: Hull against Leicester, Birmingham against Bristol.

While the England bid group plots its international strategy and circles the world to woo Fifa’s power brokers, 15 cities are sparring for the chance to be on the country’s list of venues and the selection process begins in earnest today as inspection teams start visiting the contenders. It is an early chance to impress. Two “technical teams” from the FA’s 2018 organisation will spend much of the month on location, returning for another look in September.

Two months after that, the bid team will pick between 12 and 18 venues to form part of England’s submission. That will be sent to Fifa in May next year and the world governing body will take the big decision in December.

The 2018 group wants prospective host cities to be creative in showing how they can add value to the bid, as well as proving they can conform to Fifa’s demanding requirements on topics such as stadium capacity, security, communications, hospitality facilities and fan parks. For Bristol and Portsmouth, that means convincing the assessors that promised new stadiums are not simply pipe dreams.

function slideshowPopUp(url) { pictureGalleryPopupPic(url); return false; } Each city must also offer four locations for potential training grounds and base camps and there are ancillary events to vie for, such as the draw for the Confederations Cup and various Fifa junkets.

With an influx of visitors and global media attention guaranteed, the economic benefits are obvious. There is cautious optimism in Sheffield, although it faces competition from nearby Leeds, Hull, Derby, Nottingham and Leicester.

Sheffield will highlight its transport and tourism infrastructure, sports facilities and competition experience. Sheffield, England’s fourth-largest city, has hosted more than 500 national and international sports events in the past decade, has good road and rail links and 4,000 hotel rooms.

“One of the angles we are pushing is that it’s a safe, welcoming city that’s got sport and very much football at its heart. It’s in the DNA of the city,” Wayne Coyle, Sheffield’s bid director, said. The city has a rich football heritage — as well as the two Coca-Cola Championship clubs, Sheffield FC are the world’s oldest club. However, as the England bid is desperate to avoid appearing complacent or entitled because of the country’s role in developing the game, Sheffield’s history is an asset to be handled with care.

“There’s a massive enthusiasm for football here, everybody is up for this,” Jason Rockett, the Sheffield United chief executive, said. Across town, they agree. “Every week there’s a world-championship level event happening in Sheffield, it’s the busiest sporting city in the world. We call ourselves the biggest village in the country, there is a good community and being a World Cup host city would be huge,” Lee Strafford, the Sheffield Wednesday chairman, said.

Neither club’s home meets Fifa criteria, but Sheffield United are investing in the hospitality facilities at Bramall Lane and plan to increase the capacity to 44,000, 4,000 above Fifa’s minimum, while it would cost a manageable £6 million or so to upgrade Hillsborough. But which of the stadiums will Sheffield put forward?

Milton Keynes seems a long shot given the city’s lack of football tradition, but Pete Winkelman, the chairman of Milton Keynes Dons, disagrees. “I don’t think we are outsiders. That’s not to say we haven’t got to do an enormous amount to achieve it, but we’re hugely serious,” he said.

“By 2018, Milton Keynes will probably be one of the top 12 cities in the country in terms of population and economic clout, we’ve got a brilliant track record for delivery — stadium:mk is one of the best stadiums in the country — so the FA will understand that if we go for it, we’ll be able to make it real. I would doubt that many cities would be able to put together as formidable a \ team as we will.” Let the beauty contest begin.

The contenders Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle-Gateshead, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Sunderland

The dates

Last week Submission of outline bids

This month First inspections of prospective host cities

September Second round of inspections

November Bid deadline for cities December 12-18 venues are chosen for England’s Bid Book

May 2010 Deadline for submissions to Fifa

December 2010 Fifa announces winning host country

[leicesterseddon]

Sheffield get their bid publicised in the Times on line.

The fight for the right to host the 2018 World Cup finals is not just a battle between England, Spain, Australia, Russia and the rest. It is local as well as global: Hull against Leicester, Birmingham against Bristol.

While the England bid group plots its international strategy and circles the world to woo Fifa’s power brokers, 15 cities are sparring for the chance to be on the country’s list of venues and the selection process begins in earnest today as inspection teams start visiting the contenders. It is an early chance to impress. Two “technical teams” from the FA’s 2018 organisation will spend much of the month on location, returning for another look in September.

Two months after that, the bid team will pick between 12 and 18 venues to form part of England’s submission. That will be sent to Fifa in May next year and the world governing body will take the big decision in December.

The 2018 group wants prospective host cities to be creative in showing how they can add value to the bid, as well as proving they can conform to Fifa’s demanding requirements on topics such as stadium capacity, security, communications, hospitality facilities and fan parks. For Bristol and Portsmouth, that means convincing the assessors that promised new stadiums are not simply pipe dreams.

function slideshowPopUp(url) { pictureGalleryPopupPic(url); return false; } Each city must also offer four locations for potential training grounds and base camps and there are ancillary events to vie for, such as the draw for the Confederations Cup and various Fifa junkets.

With an influx of visitors and global media attention guaranteed, the economic benefits are obvious. There is cautious optimism in Sheffield, although it faces competition from nearby Leeds, Hull, Derby, Nottingham and Leicester.

Sheffield will highlight its transport and tourism infrastructure, sports facilities and competition experience. Sheffield, England’s fourth-largest city, has hosted more than 500 national and international sports events in the past decade, has good road and rail links and 4,000 hotel rooms.

“One of the angles we are pushing is that it’s a safe, welcoming city that’s got sport and very much football at its heart. It’s in the DNA of the city,” Wayne Coyle, Sheffield’s bid director, said. The city has a rich football heritage — as well as the two Coca-Cola Championship clubs, Sheffield FC are the world’s oldest club. However, as the England bid is desperate to avoid appearing complacent or entitled because of the country’s role in developing the game, Sheffield’s history is an asset to be handled with care.

“There’s a massive enthusiasm for football here, everybody is up for this,” Jason Rockett, the Sheffield United chief executive, said. Across town, they agree. “Every week there’s a world-championship level event happening in Sheffield, it’s the busiest sporting city in the world. We call ourselves the biggest village in the country, there is a good community and being a World Cup host city would be huge,” Lee Strafford, the Sheffield Wednesday chairman, said.

Neither club’s home meets Fifa criteria, but Sheffield United are investing in the hospitality facilities at Bramall Lane and plan to increase the capacity to 44,000, 4,000 above Fifa’s minimum, while it would cost a manageable £6 million or so to upgrade Hillsborough. But which of the stadiums will Sheffield put forward?

Milton Keynes seems a long shot given the city’s lack of football tradition, but Pete Winkelman, the chairman of Milton Keynes Dons, disagrees. “I don’t think we are outsiders. That’s not to say we haven’t got to do an enormous amount to achieve it, but we’re hugely serious,” he said.

“By 2018, Milton Keynes will probably be one of the top 12 cities in the country in terms of population and economic clout, we’ve got a brilliant track record for delivery — stadium:mk is one of the best stadiums in the country — so the FA will understand that if we go for it, we’ll be able to make it real. I would doubt that many cities would be able to put together as formidable a \ team as we will.” Let the beauty contest begin.

The contenders Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle-Gateshead, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Sunderland

What is this bloke on...

[Ultra]

Facebook group backs World Cup bid

THE CAMPAIGN to bring the FIFA World Cup to Leicester in 2018 now has its own fan base on Facebook.

Leicester City fan Ryan Hubbard formed the group in May, as soon as he heard that Leicester would be bidding for host city status.

Since then, more than 1,000 people have joined the online group – and that number is rising steadily.

“I originally started the group to let my friends, family and colleagues know about the bid,” said Ryan.

“But, all of a sudden, my friends invited their friends and the number shot up to over 700. Now we’ve got more than 1,300 people in the group.”

Like many Leicester City fans, Ryan would love to bring the World Cup to the Walkers Stadium.

“As I was born in Leicester, and have lived here all my life, I am very proud of my city. It would be fantastic to show our city off to the world.

“And as we are such a multi-cultural city, the public would be very welcoming to foreign fans and the atmosphere would be fantastic.

“But it would also attract massive investment and tourism to the city – and that would benefit everyone.”

Leader of Leicester City Council, Cllr Ross Willmott, is delighted that people are getting behind the city’s bid.

“It’s really important we show the FA that we want to host the biggest event in the world,” he said.

“Ryan’s initiative is a big boost to our campaign. He’s doing a great job in raising awareness of Leicester’s bid and we appreciate his efforts very much indeed.”

Ryan believes that his group, ‘Back Leicester’s Bid for the World Cup 2018/2022’, now has more members than any other prospective World Cup host city on Facebook - – but he’d still like to attract more people.

“We’ll keep inviting people to join the group and get them to choose Leicester as their preferred host city on the official England 2018 Bid site,” he said.

“We need everyone to support Leicester’s bid!”

To follow the group’s progress, or to join the group and expand its fan base, log on to: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=79506791389

[Ultra]

From the Mercury

World Cup team shows what city can offer

Members of the public could be able to watch the world's finest footballers train up close, if Leicester is chosen as part of England's World Cup bid.

The team behind Leicester's bid say public training sessions could take place across the county as part of their plans to host a match at the 2018 World Cup.

It means football fans could see the likes of Lionel Messi, Alexander Pato and Theo Walcott showing off their skills in Leicestershire for free.

The news came as FA delegates were yesterday shown around the city and county for the first time since Leicester launched its campaign to be a host city for a World Cup match.

Nick Carter, chairman of Prospect Leicestershire, which is helping to back the bid, said: "FIFA encourages teams to train in public. You only have to look back to past tournaments to see the enjoyment the players bring people.

"There are a number of great venues we could use for public training. If we had a team based here for the World Cup it would be a fantastic opportunity for members of the public to watch them train."

Leicester Tigers have already said they would be keen to offer Welford Road as a training ground during the tournament.

And members of the England bid's technical team were also shown around the superb facilities at Loughborough University yesterday. The Japanese Olympic team has already signed up to use the university as their base for the 2012 Olympics.

Hotels, motorways, train stations and airports were also visited by the FA delegation, who were keen to see how Leicester would cope with a big influx of spectators.

City councillor Patrick Kitterick, cabinet member for regeneration and transport, said the fact Leicester had so many links to the centre of town could only be a bonus.

He also said Leicester would be able to stage a World Cup match "in a year's time".

He said: "We're very fortunate because we have a train station that is close to the Walkers Stadium. We're building a new park-and-ride system and we've got airports.

"We've got a hospital right next to the ground as well so we have so much in such a small area."

FA staff were also given a tour of Victoria Park and Abbey Park – venues which have been earmarked as huge sites for fans where live matches would be beamed to crowds of up to 100,000 people.

Coun Kitterick said: "These fan sites will create a very special atmosphere. I think Victoria Park could be the jewel in our crown."

The FA will give feedback to the organisers of Leicester's bid in the first week of August.

Another inspection will take place in September and an announcement will be made by the FA in December to say which cities have been chosen. So far, 15 cities, including Leicester, are in the running to be a host city.

A spokesman for the England 2018 World Cup Bid said: "We have been impressed with the quality of the outline submissions from all applicant host cities. We are currently engaged in the first of two rounds of the inspection process and these first-stage visits have been structured to achieve familiarity with the cities' intentions in the early stages of their submission."

Public support will also play a vital role in deciding which cities will be chosen to host a World Cup match.

[Fosse Boy]

What is this bloke on...

Cocaine.

Facebook group backs World Cup bid

Why doesn't my facebook group get this kind of publicity?

[The Doctor]

Sheffield get their bid publicised in the Times on line.

The fight for the right to host the 2018 World Cup finals is not just a battle between England, Spain, Australia, Russia and the rest. It is local as well as global: Hull against Leicester, Birmingham against Bristol.

While the England bid group plots its international strategy and circles the world to woo Fifa’s power brokers, 15 cities are sparring for the chance to be on the country’s list of venues and the selection process begins in earnest today as inspection teams start visiting the contenders. It is an early chance to impress. Two “technical teams” from the FA’s 2018 organisation will spend much of the month on location, returning for another look in September.

Two months after that, the bid team will pick between 12 and 18 venues to form part of England’s submission. That will be sent to Fifa in May next year and the world governing body will take the big decision in December.

The 2018 group wants prospective host cities to be creative in showing how they can add value to the bid, as well as proving they can conform to Fifa’s demanding requirements on topics such as stadium capacity, security, communications, hospitality facilities and fan parks. For Bristol and Portsmouth, that means convincing the assessors that promised new stadiums are not simply pipe dreams.

function slideshowPopUp(url) { pictureGalleryPopupPic(url); return false; } Each city must also offer four locations for potential training grounds and base camps and there are ancillary events to vie for, such as the draw for the Confederations Cup and various Fifa junkets.

With an influx of visitors and global media attention guaranteed, the economic benefits are obvious. There is cautious optimism in Sheffield, although it faces competition from nearby Leeds, Hull, Derby, Nottingham and Leicester.

Sheffield will highlight its transport and tourism infrastructure, sports facilities and competition experience. Sheffield, England’s fourth-largest city, has hosted more than 500 national and international sports events in the past decade, has good road and rail links and 4,000 hotel rooms.

“One of the angles we are pushing is that it’s a safe, welcoming city that’s got sport and very much football at its heart. It’s in the DNA of the city,” Wayne Coyle, Sheffield’s bid director, said. The city has a rich football heritage — as well as the two Coca-Cola Championship clubs, Sheffield FC are the world’s oldest club. However, as the England bid is desperate to avoid appearing complacent or entitled because of the country’s role in developing the game, Sheffield’s history is an asset to be handled with care.

“There’s a massive enthusiasm for football here, everybody is up for this,” Jason Rockett, the Sheffield United chief executive, said. Across town, they agree. “Every week there’s a world-championship level event happening in Sheffield, it’s the busiest sporting city in the world. We call ourselves the biggest village in the country, there is a good community and being a World Cup host city would be huge,” Lee Strafford, the Sheffield Wednesday chairman, said.

Neither club’s home meets Fifa criteria, but Sheffield United are investing in the hospitality facilities at Bramall Lane and plan to increase the capacity to 44,000, 4,000 above Fifa’s minimum, while it would cost a manageable £6 million or so to upgrade Hillsborough. But which of the stadiums will Sheffield put forward?

Milton Keynes seems a long shot given the city’s lack of football tradition, but Pete Winkelman, the chairman of Milton Keynes Dons, disagrees. “I don’t think we are outsiders. That’s not to say we haven’t got to do an enormous amount to achieve it, but we’re hugely serious,” he said.

“By 2018, Milton Keynes will probably be one of the top 12 cities in the country in terms of population and economic clout, we’ve got a brilliant track record for delivery — stadium:mk is one of the best stadiums in the country — so the FA will understand that if we go for it, we’ll be able to make it real. I would doubt that many cities would be able to put together as formidable a \ team as we will.” Let the beauty contest begin.

The contenders Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle-Gateshead, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Sunderland

The dates

Last week Submission of outline bids

This month First inspections of prospective host cities

September Second round of inspections

November Bid deadline for cities December 12-18 venues are chosen for England’s Bid Book

May 2010 Deadline for submissions to Fifa

December 2010 Fifa announces winning host country

if they can pick between 12 and 18 venues to hold matches surely they could just use all the cities named in that list of contenders rather than inspecting the cities first to choose.

[Ultra]

Several of the cities have more than one potential venue. London alone has four or five.

[lcfc81]

Just looked at the bidding site and Leicester seems to have by far the most active bid

http://www.2018england.co.uk/category/leicester

In particular this article

http://www.2018england.co.uk/what-are-the-...r-host-bid.html

Sounds very impressive especially when you compare it to this (by Derby)

http://www.2018england.co.uk/category/derby

(Where all the arguing is in the comments about how Derby is better than Forest)

and the 'If' bid by Forest

http://www.2018england.co.uk/category/nottingham

Looks like whoever is arranging our bid know what they are doing

We just need some people to comment on it as that is the only place we seem to lack behind!

I think winning the Rugby world cup bid and having it in Leicester is a real jewell in the crown and presenting it as a dress rehersal for the football world cup will bode very well. Also any improvements needed could be done in a joint venture (with the Rugby).

The other thing that pleased me is the Collaboration between LCFC, Tigers and Loughborough University that isn't evident in other bids.

Even confident about the 'History Issue' as I read somewhere the English bid is trying not to rely on the 'Historical' link to inventing football (and coming across as arrogant) but is concentrating on bidding on current merits. (Thus nullifying the we've got the oldest proffesional club in the world and were European Champions arguments).

[Finchy]

Very interesting. I think our chances look very good after seeing that, Derby don't seem to have anything going for them, they are just clinging on to the good transport links plan. That is all they have, as a City i'd say it's the worst involved in the bid.

[leicesterseddon]

That article is awful - poorly written dross interspersed with an incoherent series of pixelated photos lifted from google images or Wikipedia.

Personally, I think Nottingham would get it over Leicester if they were to build this new big stadium, but I don't think it will ever get built. It's pretty open tbh.

[Bryn]

I'd so love Hull to get it but I'm not holding my breath. The stadium being so central is a big plus I think, so is the fact that it's already in a park so the entire area could become one giant fan park with the stadium at the heart. The citys transport links (existing Airport which could be expanded, Ferry terminal, direct lines by train to most big citys nowadays and pretty much its own stretch of motorway leading up to the city) are really good now too. Large investment would be needed into the area though.

Leicester's bid hinges on whether two venues are wanted in the East Midlands, IMO. Nottingham is, and should be, a sure bet. But I think Leicester is much more attractive a prospect than Derby or Coventry (Who wants the World Cup in the middle of nowhere, somewhere roughly near Coventry of all places?). And the Milton Keynes would be fucking outrageous, what a nothing of a place.

[lcfc81]

That article is awful - poorly written dross interspersed with an incoherent series of pixelated photos lifted from google images or Wikipedia.

Personally, I think Nottingham would get it over Leicester if they were to build this new big stadium, but I don't think it will ever get built. It's pretty open tbh.

Maybe so but far more time is taken over it than the Derby or Nottingham articles wouldn't you agree?

[lcfc81]

I'd so love Hull to get it but I'm not holding my breath. The stadium being so central is a big plus I think, so is the fact that it's already in a park so the entire area could become one giant fan park with the stadium at the heart. The citys transport links (existing Airport which could be expanded, Ferry terminal, direct lines by train to most big citys nowadays and pretty much its own stretch of motorway leading up to the city) are really good now too. Large investment would be needed into the area though.

Leicester's bid hinges on whether two venues are wanted in the East Midlands, IMO. Nottingham is, and should be, a sure bet. But I think Leicester is much more attractive a prospect than Derby or Coventry (Who wants the World Cup in the middle of nowhere, somewhere roughly near Coventry of all places?). And the Milton Keynes would be fucking outrageous, what a nothing of a place.

Have to say I would agree that Nottingham is the most likely.

However am more confident when I saw that article and realised what they have to do to get a stadium and the fact they have no idea who is going to pay for it! They don't seem particularly proactive with their bid either apathy that may play into our hands!

Had a look at the stadium section and was pleasantly suprised the number of people who mentioned the Walkers (more than I would of thought).

Anyway I'm not giving up on the idea until I'm told we have no chance!

[Finchy]

...Also Forest fans seem to be dead against the new ground, for most it seems to be expand the City ground or nothing.

[lcfc81]

...Also Forest fans seem to be dead against the new ground, for most it seems to be expand the City ground or nothing.

On the ground issue just read in this article we are the only ones with any sort of planning permission to meet the requirements! Good times

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Midlan...il/article.html

[Ultra]

If Notts County become the giant their sugar daddies hope, it's not implausible that THEY could build the new stadium.

It'll be too late for the World Cup bid, though...

[Ultra]

Fans flag up support for city World Cup bid

LEICESTER City fans heading for the Walkers Stadium on Saturday are being urged to take their seats early to show their support for Leicester’s World Cup bid.

Before the game against Swansea kicks off – at around 2.40pm – a giant flag bearing the words ‘We’re Backing the Bid!’ will be passed through the south stand.

Fans in the stand will then be asked to hold the flag aloft in a dramatic gesture of support.

Photos of the giant flag – which measures 6 metres x 8 metres – will be sent to the England 2018 bid team to show how strongly fans feel about bringing the World Cup to the Walkers.

“We're calling on fans to show their support for their club and their city by voting for Leicester on the England 2018 Bid website," said city council leader, Cllr Ross Willmott.

"We know that Leicester fans are amongst the most passionate in the country - now we need to harness that passion and convert it into votes.

"Let's show the FA how much we want to bring the FIFA World Cup to Leicester in 2018."

Leicester will find out in December, if it has been chosen as one of the host cities that will form part of England’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

For more information about Leicester’s bid, visit www.backleicestersbid.com

The site is linked to the official England 2018 Bid website, where people can show their support by selecting Leicester as their preferred host city.