Blatter: England World Cup would be ‘easy’

Sepp Blatter, the president of football’s governing body, Fifa, has said it would be ‘easy’ to stage the 2018 World Cup in England.

Fifa delegates are currently in England inspecting its bid on a four-day visit.

Blatter said: “The easiest way to organise the World Cup is to go to England. Everything is there: fans, stadiums, infrastructure – it’s easy.”

British deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, met the Fifa inspection team yesterday and believes the England bid is ‘unbeatable’.

He said: “I believe this is an exceptionally strong, unbeatable bid. We in this government believe in it, we hope that you will believe in it.

“Our job is to show you we already have the infrastructure and facilities to host a World Cup.”

The inspection team were in London yesterday, and are also due to visit the north-east and north-west during their trip.

The hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be announced on 2 December.