At present, London is the only city in England that would be guaranteed some involvement in the 2018 World Cup if the country was to win the bid. This is because the final would take place at the host country’s national stadium which happens to be Wembley in London. However, whether or not London will have any more involvement in the tournament is yet to be seen. Nevertheless, it’s surely a safe bet to assume that the nation’s capital city will be a prominent staging ground for the World Cup.

The first thing that the host city selectors will be looking for is whether or not the city in question has the stadia capable of hosting World Cup games. The current system means that stadiums must have a capacity of over 40,000 to be eligable for the tournament. London’s draft prospectus will be put to the FA on the 8th July and will include proposals for Arsenal’s Emirates stadium, Tottenham’s soon to be redeveloped White Hart Lane and the future 2012 Olympic stadium. Grounds such as Stamford Bridge, Craven Cottage and Upton Park will be encouraged to be put forward as training camps which attract vast amounts of spectators if a glamorous team such as Brazil are staging a training session in the capital.

The two most controversial products in the London bid is the proposed use of Rugby oriented stadium Twickenham and the future 2012 Olympic stadium. Rugby fans have questioned how ethical it would be to use Twickenham as a football venue when for the best part of it’s existence it has been the home of English rugby. Plans to use Twickenham during the 2018 World Cup have currently been put on hold. The use for the future Olympic stadium is a currently ongoing debate. Previously, the plans had been to dismantle the 80,000 capacity down to 25,000 following the Olympic Games. If this was the case then the stadium could be used as a training ground. However, London Mayor Boris Johnson has questioned why the stadium could not be used in it’s full capacity as an iconic football stadium despite other leading members also being concerned about the running track that will surround the 80,000 venue.

Although large quality football stadiums are a necessity, it’s also key for a host city to provide other facilities such as fan parks and hotel accommodation. Fan Parks will not be a problem for London as well known royal venues such as Regents Park and Hyde Park are great tourist hotspots regardless of whether or not a tournament is nearby. Also, the 2.5 square kilometre Olympic Park could be used as a viewing area. This approach worked really well in Germany during 2006 as the 1972 Munich Games Park was used for the public viewing.

Alongside this, factors such as transport will also be evaluated as the World Cup will involve a lot of tourists arriving and departing the cities all at once. Surely there is no city that has better transport links than London? The city has five large international airports serving 180 destinations along with an extensive rail and bus network which will only be strengthened by the need to accommodate the Olympics.

This fact brings us to the overriding conclusion which is that London is a city used to holding large prestigious sporting events. In recent years, the capital’s events calendar has been filled by world class sporting events including US sporting giants the NBA and NFL, Twenty20 Cricket, Wimbledon and the eagerly followed Tour de France. Not to mention the thousands who travel each week to watch Premiership football from far and wide. Then you realise that London must have something going for it to be selected as an Olympic host city for the 3rd time in it’s history and there is surely no way that the host city selectors can overlook London?

‘I believe that England is the best country to host the FIFA World Cup tournament. It’s known around the world for being football mad – from a friendly kick about in the local park, to the top-flight professional club and international matches attracting fans in their tens of thousands each week. We really want the World Cup to come to London and will work closely with the other host cities to ensure a brilliant tournament and also a fantastic visitor experience for all football fans coming here.’ – Mayor Boris Johnson