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Football won’t be coming home to the region

THERE was a deflated mood in the region yesterday as England failed in its quest to host the FIFA 2018 World Cup, an event that would have netted the North East an estimated £58m on the tournament alone.

Earlier in the day there had been an optimistic atmosphere inside Shearers bar at St James’ Park as the region’s figureheads behind the bid hoped they had done enough to secure the first major tournament on British shores since Euro 96.

The mood was soon dampened as news filtered through that it was in fact Russia and not England that would be hosting the major sporting event.

David Faulkner, Leader of Newcastle City council and Chair of the NewcastleGateshead World Cup Champions Group, said: “It’s a very bitter pill to swallow, I have to believe, and I hope I’m right in believing that the decision was made on football grounds.”

“There’s lot of people in England who have never experienced what a World cup is like and it’s a shame there going to be denied it until we get the chance to bid again.

“I think it would have brought big crowds, it would have brought tourists, it would have brought a sense of celebration and it would have brought the best out of within our people, showing how welcoming we are to the world.”

Meanwhile, Mark Jackson, Bid Director, could not hide his dejection.

He said: “Very, very disappointed, it’s one of those things, we had a fantastic bid, on the technical aspect of our bid we had all of the component parts both by FIFA and the inspection team when they were here.”

“Economically, the bid was technically safe, a safe pair of hands, it’s just disappointing.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .