Liverpool’s hopes of being named as a host city for the 2018 World Cup came extremely close to being dashed after a number of events affected the promise of having two new stadiums in the city by 2018.

Following Everton’s proposed stadium at Kirkby being rejected on bid deadline day, it became apparant that the future Liverpool stadium does not currently have the funding to be built.

Liverpool’s managing director, Christian Purslow, managed to convince bid chairman Lord Mawhinney that the new Anfield would be ready before the 2018 tournament. As a fall back measure, the current Anfield stadium has been added to the bid list. However, it is clear that only one of these grounds will stand a chance of hosting World Cup football.

Peter Shaw, Liverpool assistant executive director, said: “Christian, myself and the rest of the bid team, including Everton, met with Lord Mawhinney and scenarios were put to us but we were always to offer Anfield as a fall-back option. We needed to give assurances to Fifa and it was about ensuring Liverpool as a city made this bid happen and that’s what we did. Our plans remain exactly the same, our intention is to build a new stadium. The financial markets need to be right for the club to move forward on the stadium and in the new year maybe that will happen. A stadium is needed and that stadium will be the new Anfield.

Warren Bradley, the leader of Liverpool City Council, made it clear to owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, that they must deliver on their stadium promises or risk letting down an entire city and the country’s chances of hosting the World Cup.

He said: “There was a moment when we thought we might not get it and what upset me most of all was it wasn’t because the infrastructure in the city was wrong, it would have been down solely to the fact that we didn’t have a stadium that was risk-averse as part of the bid and that’s why the current Anfield has been included in the bid.”