England’s bid team for the 2018 World Cup has been warned that they may face first round elimination if they fail to secure the four African votes available off the decision committee.

The English team are hopeful of support from Africa after having spent several years assisting various countries with coaches and resources. However, 2010 South Africa chief executive Danny Jordaan has stated that the vote may come down to internal politics.

Jordaan said: “The best team is not necessarily the winning team on match day. The difficulty will be in the first round. Where you have so many bidders, it is critical to survive the first round. It is very critical that England focus on the four votes on the African continent. That may very well take them through round one.”

Jordaan’s warning comes as the competition to host the 2018 heats up with Russia, Spain/Portugal, Australia and the USA all serious contenders. The other concern is that England can only currently count on former FA chairman Geoff Thompson’s vote from the 24 Fifa executive members.

Under fire bid leader Lord Triesman has been putting a substantial amount of work in trying to win the support of UEFA president Michel Platini. Jordaan, who feels that England have a good chance of winning, hinted at his concerns towards Triesman’s leadership but refused to voice them publicly.