Blatter expects big things from England's 2018 World Cup bid

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Blatter met Prime Minister Gordon Brown this afternoon and told him he expects rotation of the tournament to be scrapped next week.

Blatter met Brown for half an hour in Downing Street with an England bid for the 2018 finals top of the agenda.

The Prime Minister asked whether FIFA would end rotation of the finals between different continents.

Blatter said he expected the world governing body would change the system so that any country apart from those in the continent hosting the previous World Cup - ie South America, as Brazil are 2014 hosts - could bid.

FIFA's executive committee will make the final decision in Zurich on Tuesday but it should just be a case of rubber-stamping Blatter's proposal.

It would mean England going to head to head with China, Russia, Australia, Benelux and the USA and Mexico for 2018.

Blatter afterwards said: "Gordon Brown has asked that we shall take a decision that the FA will be able to bid for the 2018 World Cup.

"It's an item we will be discussing on Monday and Tuesday at the FIFA executive committee in Zurich, on how the World Cup is to be presented to the world.

"Definitely, if it happens then I can say England, the Football Association of England, will present a really strong bid."

Blatter said Brown had also promised to help FIFA's 'Football for Hope' programme in Africa.

The Prime Minister told Blatter that the time was right for England to host the World Cup again.

Brown said: "While a bid is a matter for the English FA we have said we are not only willing but very keen to support an England bid for the 2018 World Cup.

"2018 would be more than 50 years since we last hosted the World Cup and would be a huge boost to football in our country and would also make for a great sporting decade.

"We will have the Olympics in 2012, potentially the Commonwealth Games in 2014 [in Glasgow], perhaps even the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and then to be able to host the 2018 World Cup in England would be a marvellous completion of the best sporting decade in our history.

"What we know is FIFA have got to make a big decision to open up the bidding for the World Cup in 2018 and we believe there is a case for doing so.

"It's going to be discussed next week and the conversations I have had with Mr Blatter have convinced me that this is a possibility."

Brown said he believed the football world would back an England bid.

He added: "We have talked to FIFA on regular occasions and have shown him we are prepared to do everything in our power to support that bid.

"I believe that there's a groundswell of opinion in our country wanting England to host the World Cup in 2018 and I also believe that there is a new sense in the world of football that it is the right thing to do for England, 50 years after 1966 to get the World Cup and complete a great sporting decade."