Lord Triesman is confident the Government will provide £5million towards England's 2018 World Cup bid and describes the investment as a "no-brainer" in terms of a getting a return on their money.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown was at Wembley for the launch of the campaign nearly five months ago but so far no government funds have been provided, with 2018 chairman Triesman suggesting the economic downturn and red tape has caused the delay.

Securing the injection of money - a third of the budget for the bid - would provide a positive step in a campaign heavily criticised by FIFA vice-president Jack Warner at the Leaders In Football summit at Stamford Bridge this week.

Triesman, who also hopes to secure financial support from the Barclays Premier League, said: "Those are bodies that are entitled to take their own decisions. I would prefer to see everyone in football and the Government meeting their obligations.

"When you look at what is needed to do the bid as well as we can do it, and then look at what is earned for the country, you will never see more of a no-brainer.

"We are still talking. If people think it is finished then I can say the discussion is still going on and I'm not getting into a mood of pessimism."

Triesman explained why there was not an immediate investment from the Government.

"When people were talking about the money available it was before the credit crunch hit and before the financial pressures on government departments were as acute as they are," he said.

"They have become acute I can see that.

"But this investment would be paid so many tens of thousands of times over tells you what an amazing outcome it would be for our economy. So I am going to continue to argue that it should be looked at as an investment with a fabulous return.

"The process always takes longer in government than you think they are going to. They are complicated involving a number of departments. I have by no means drawn the conclusion that it is a lost cause."

Speaking at Chelsea's stadium, Triesman also responded to comments from Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe, made last month, regarding the running of the Football Association and the need for reform.

FA chairman Triesman suggests the football would be better run if there was a widespread fit-and-proper-persons test.

"We would all improve if there was a degree more coherence among all the main stakeholders in the regulation of the game," Triesman said. "For example, every single important body in English football has a different fit-and-proper-persons test.

"I understand why people want their own but we were keen to say to the Minister of Sport that it would be more coherent and efficient and would save time if we all operated with essentially the same template.

"The disappointment of what Gerry said was that the fault lines we need to deal with lie in a particular area and his remedy for that would be potentially threaten to withhold money from the grassroots."

Triesman also spoke of his fears about the English game being dominated by a only few teams.
"Football and sport are part of our DNA. The key to decode this DNA is that great sport is truly exhilarating when it is truly competitive," he said.

"It is the prospect of equality in competition - best when it happens naturally but most essentially that it happens. If only a tiny proportion of the football giants can win and move beyond the financial range of their competitors - unless an entire oil-producing state comes in as a backer - someone is bound to ask if that is great news for competition."

With regard to the 2018 bid, Triesman revealed international ambassadors in Kolo Toure, Roque Santa Cruz, Nwankwo Kanu, Kenwyne Jones, Salomon Kalou, Ossie Ardiles, Lucas Radebe, Ricardo Villa and Gianfranco Zola.

"I hope they will help us bring the World Cup here in 2018," he added, before hinting at problems of racial abuse in the countries of rival bidders.

"They are able to point out, because we face our demons in the past, that you can play your football here without racial abuse. And that is not true everywhere. You can also do it knowing that when we see any signs of a re-emergence we'll stamp on it."