§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the progress of the campaign to host the 2006 football World Cup in the United Kingdom. [104793]
§ Kate HoeyFIFA will make its final decision as to the host country for the 2006 FIFA World Cup on 6 July and so that FA's bid is entering its final critical stage of campaigning. During their visit in October last year, the FIFA Inspection Team made clear their view that England has a very strong technical bid. Efforts to convey its strengths, together with the many proposed legacy benefit associated with hosting a World Cup in England, will be maximised by the FA bid team in the coming months. The government's Envoy to the bid team will play a full part in this work.
An integral part of recent activity by the bid team has been the stepping up of lobbying of the 24 FIFA voters, involving both receiving visitors in England and the co-ordination of overseas visits. Recent events have included attendance by members of the bid team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw in Tokyo, the FIFA Under 17 Championships in New Zealand and the World Club Championship in Brazil involving Manchester United. In the coming months the bid team will make important presentations to each of FIFA's six Confederations across the world. The timetable for these presentations is as follows:
- 20 January: CAF, Ghana
- 5 February: CONMEBOL, Paraguay
- 12–13 May: CONCACAF, Bahamas
- 18 May: AFC, Malaysia
- Week commencing 22 May: OFC, New Zealand
- 30 June: UEFA, Luxembourg.