The bid leaders for England’s 2018 World Cup proposal will begin visiting the potential host cities for inspection in the next two months.

15 cities compiling 22 possible venues will undergo two inspections each before a shortlist is drawn up by December. Wembley (below) is certain to be included as it will stage the final whilst Old Trafford is a large possibility as England’s only five star club stadium credited by UEFA.

Even if an arena is not selected as a match host, it can still be put forward as a training venue where 25,000 seater stadiums are ideal for countries like Brazil who attract huge numbers to their training sessions. However, to be eligable to host a game, the capacity of the stadium must be above 40,000 meaning that cities such as Portsmouth and Bristol would have to expand their current grounds or build new ones.

The 15 cities

Birmingham

Bristol

Derby

Hull

Leeds

Leicester

Liverpool

London

Manchester

Milton Keynes

Newcastle/Gateshead

Nottingham

Portsmouth

Sheffield

Sunderland