News release: Courtesy of Leicester City Council Press Office 16/12/2009
News that Leicester won’t be included in England’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup has been met with disappointment in the city.
At a press conference in London today (16th), Lord Mawhinney – the chairman of the England 2018 selection panel – announced that Leicester would not be among the candidate host cities that will form part of England’s official bid.
Leader of the city council, Cllr Ross Willmott, said: “This is a huge disappointment for everyone who’s worked so hard on the bid – and for everyone who shared our enthusiasm for bringing the football World Cup to Leicester.
“But we’ll carry on with our bid to put Leicester on the world map. We felt we had given the FA a strong and robust bid, focusing on Leicester City’s stadium, our central location, quality accommodation and, of course, the clear community benefits that the World Cup would have brought.
“We weren’t successful on this occasion – but we remain committed to raising Leicester’s profile on the world stage.
“Of course Leicester is already a World Cup city and we look forward to 2015, when the Tigers will host the Rugby World Cup.”
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