2006 World Cup

How England's world came to an end

They threw the best parties and offered the most lavish hospitality. They also spent twice as much as anyone else. But when it came to football politics, they were embarrassingly outclassed
Diary of a failed World Cup bid
Inquest into England £10m World Cup flop

The English dream of staging the 2006 World Cup was born amid the hype and euphoria of Euro 96, which won praise for its organisation from international football officials. It died amid the mayhem and violence caused by English fans at Euro 2000. But the writing was on the wall long before the first glass was hurled in Belgium.

The last rites to England's dream were administered in Zurich yesterday, but it was always going to be an uphill struggle - raising questions as to why England continued to pursue 2006 over the last three years knowing that it did not have backing from the two main organisations in world football: Uefa, the sport's European governing body, and Fifa, which is responsible for world football.

It was a bit like a political candidate standing for election without the support of their national or constituency party.

From the outset, England entered the race on weak moral ground. Soon after Euro 96, the Football Association said it intended to bid for the World Cup, winning support from Labour and the Tories.

The Germans, who had also announced their intention to bid, cried foul: a gentleman's agreement had been drawn up with England - in return for German support for Euro 96, England had agreed to back Germany for the World Cup in 2006.

The deal had been agreed between Sir Bert Millichip, former FA chairman, and Lennart Johansson, president of Uefa. But English 2006 officials, led by the campaign director Alec McGivan, said there was no written proof of any such agreement and that it had all been a misunderstanding.

Privately, football and government officials agree that there was such a deal. England's decision to back out was to have disastrous consequences for the campaign.

Johansson, who is also a member of Fifa's executive committee which voted in Zurich yesterday, was annoyed at the attitude of the English. He insisted that Uefa, which has eight votes on the committee, should back Germany.

Only David Will, the Scottish representative on Uefa, was persuaded to back England in yesterday's vote but that still meant seven crucial votes were ruled out. A source said: "There was a fundamental weakness from the start of England's campaign. We all knew about the gentleman's agreement and Johansson was part of it. He was in the room when the deal was done and he was virtually being accused by the English of being a liar. It's not a very good idea to alienate someone so powerful within world football.

"It also meant that England were seen as bad sports who could not honour their word. That did not go down too well with Fifa officials."

The sports minister, Kate Hoey, is also said to be annoyed at the backtracking on the gentleman's agreement, one of the main reasons she has not wholeheartedly given her support to the 2006 campaign.

"It's against everything she stands for. It showed that the English campaign lacked moral fibre," said a government source.

In addition to missing out on the crucial support of Uefa, England suffered another blow when Sepp Blatter, Fifa's president, said it was time for a country from Africa to host the World Cup for the first time.

Without backing from football's established organisations, England's 2006 officials pushed on relentlessly, basing their campaign around trying to draw support from Fifa delegates outside Europe.

Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Geoff Hurst, two 1966 World Cup heroes, were brought in as the public face of the campaign and spent three years travelling the globe visiting dozens of countries.

The former sports minister Tony Banks became the prime minister's special envoy on the campaign and it soon became apparent that nothing would stand in the way of the quest to land the tournament. Lavish dinners were held in London, one in the company of Prince Charles, while expensive parties were thrown at Fifa meetings and other football events.

During the 1998 World Cup in France, England 2006 officials hired a luxurious villa. The most recent party was thrown in Nassau as England attempted to persuade the three north and central American delegates to Fifa to vote for their bid. Fifa delegates also attended matches and enjoyed hospitality in England.

The English bid also focused, at great cost, on developing football in countries where votes could be won. Training ses sions were held in countries such as Trinidad and the former Aston Villa striker Peter Withe was appointed manager of Thailand's national team in an attempt to win favour with their Fifa delegate.

In one of the most cynical chapters of the campaign, Manchester United were allowed to withdraw from the FA Cup to compete in the world club championship in Brazil this year. It was an attempt to win three south American Fifa votes but proved a public relations disaster.

Among all four competing countries and Fifa officials, it soon became apparent that the English hosted the best parties and offered the best hospitality and would do anything to curry favour with delegates. But that counted for little when it came down to football politics.

Former 2006 employees claim huge amounts of money were wasted on ensuring that English officials stayed at the best hotels and travelled in luxury. One said: "There was no doubt that all those who represented the campaign wanted the best. They were not real political animals and could never quite get their heads around the lobbying that such a contest needs but they all had a great time.

"We were concerned at how much money was being spent on hotels, weekends away and during tournaments. I remember during France 98 most of the campaign team stayed in the villa. There was no need for all of them to be there."

The bid cost just over £10m, almost double that spent by any other country. Most of that came from the Football Association and the Premier League but just over £3m came from the national lottery.

A source said: "You have to ask why football, which is the richest sport in the country, was given lottery money. It was obvious that our team lacked the clout of Germany or South Africa."

Questions will also be asked at the involvement of Mr Banks and Mr McGivan in the campaign. Mr McGivan, a former senior official of the Social Democratic Party, has been criticised for his lack of charm and inability to understand the intricacies of international football politics.

Despite relentless campaigning he was unable to win over Fifa delegates and was considered no match to the stature and smoothness of Franz Beckenbauer, head of the German bid, and Danny Jordaan, who ran the South African attempt.

Mr Banks has been criticised for his outbursts against anyone criticising the 2006 campaign and for his comments against Fifa officials last week, when it became apparent that England's bid was doomed.

A source said: "England lacked charismatic figures in their campaign. Bobby Charlton is a great name but does not have the same standing in the world game as Beckenbauer. The team was made up of people who just believed that England is the best. They have been very arrogant."

English officials will look back on the hooliganism at Euro 2000 and Uefa's subsequent threat to throw the team out of the tournament as the moment when the bid went wrong. But for many, the crucial moment came in May when Arsenal and Galatasaray fans fought in Copenhagen before the Uefa Cup final. Pictures of the violence were beamed around the world.

A World Cup source said: "The violence in Copenhagen really shocked Fifa. The feeling was that England had nice grounds, a nice campaign and lovely brochures - but can you really reward a country whose fans behave so badly? That was a real turning point." Soon after, Jack Warner of the Concacaf federation, which represents north and central America and the Caribbean and was considered one of England's main supporters, advised England to withdraw. It was good advice but an early withdrawal would have been too embarrassing.

In the end, the violence proved a convenient get-out clause. Few within international football actually expected England to win the 2006 contest but it give English organisers a chance to use the hooliganism as the perfect excuse for the demise of their bid. In reality, England were never expected to get past the second round - and so it proved yesterday at the end of a costly and heartbreaking campaign that culminated in two sorry votes and another early English exit.

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