FIFA Vice President Jack Warner has decided to back England’s 2018 World Cup bid after meeting with Prime Minister Gordan Brown.

Warner, who is in charge of the CONCACAF region, had previously heavily criticised the bid for failing to use the facilities available to them. He also angrily returned a handbag given to his wife as part of an England promotion to get on the good side of the 24 available voters.

However, Brown’s comments emphasising England’s passion towards football and the backing that the bid has from the government have caused Warner to backtrack on his earlier statements.

Warner said: “It was an exceptionally good meeting. It was the best case I have heard for a long time about the World Cup being in England. I was very impressed by Brown’s humility, his sincerity, his knowledge of the game, and most importantly he didn’t feel England had any divine right to host the tournament. He felt that England’s time had come – a point to which I subscribed. Next week I will meet David Beckham in Cape Town. These are not for my ego, but they are the assets that the bid should be using and I am happy to see that they are being used.”

Warner’s support is seen as crucial to winning the rights to the 2018 tournament. His role as head of th CONCACAF region will see him control three of the 24 votes that are extremely crucial in the early stages of the voting process.

He added: “Brown felt England’s time had come. I agreed. England has the best infrastructure to stage the tournament. After a 52-year gap this is England’s time.”