CONCACAF President Jack Warner believes that the English Football Association must show more “warmth” if it wants to succeed in its bid to host the 2018 World Cup. Although England “has consistently had the best bid for hosting the World Cup,” Warner says that in his time as a FIFA vice president he has also seen some first-class bids lose out to inferior bids “based on the warmth of the bidder.”
Warner, who is also “special adviser” to the Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation, tells Jeremy Wilson he was “disappointed” that FA Chairman Lord Triesman didn’t make the trip for Sunday’s exhibition game against England in Port of Spain to celebrate the TTFF’s centenary. He was less concerned that FA board member and Premier League chairman Dave Richards didn’t make it either. “I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think anybody misses him,” Warner said (presumably with not much warmth).
“You have to win the bid by bonding with people, by knowing people on a first-name basis, by lifting a hand to help your fellow man,” Warner says. The English FA continued to repeat its mistakes, and this could prove harmful as it attempts to become the sole European candidate bidding for 2018. “What is happening is exactly what happened in 2006. To me, it has been historical. One of the reasons is that, sometimes, one does not know whether England is in or out of Europe.”