Local people and property company Gentoo are backing Sunderland’s bid to become a host city for the 2018 World Cup.

The company welcomed new Sunderland signing Darren Bent to Leafields as employees got a chance to add their signatures to the official Back the Bid support books.

The Sunderland star said: “It was great to meet the Gentoo staff today. I got to see for myself just how friendly and welcoming the people of the North East are and how much football means to them.”

With 16 cities competing to host World Cup football if England get chosen to stage the event in 2018, the bid committee have stated that levels of public support when considering host city campaigns will be an important factor in the selection process.

Peter Walls, chief executive of Gentoo, said: “Gentoo are proud to be supporting Sunderland’s World Cup bid for 2018 and would urge other businesses in the region to do the same. Winning the bid would be a great boost to the local economy and be fantastic for our employees and customers.”