England 2018 World Cup bid thrown into chaos by Richards resignation

By Andrew Warshaw

November 24 – England’s 2018 World Cup bid has been plunged into further turmoil by the resignation today from the Board of Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards (pictured).

Richards sent a letter to Lord Triesman, chairman of the bid and the Football Association and the leader of England’s bid, saying that he would continue to support the campaign but no longer wanted to be on the Board.

The resignation is another massive setback for Triesman, who has taken great pains to stress how the decision to streamline the board 10 days ago would get the bid back on track and reduce all the in-fighting and squabbling.

Richards said in a statement: “With the recent changes to the England 2018 Bid team structure, I feel I can now best support a successful bid without the necessity of sitting on the Board.

“My positions as Premier League chairman, FA Board member and chairman of the FA’s International Committee provide me with ample opportunities to bang the drum for English football, and the bid particularly, right across the world, which I will continue to do wherever and whenever I can.

“My belief is that England has all the right attributes to host a successful FIFA World Cup – our challenge now is to convince the 24 members of FIFA’s ExCo [Executive Committee] of that.

“This must be our focus and priority going forward.”

Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe, who himself agreed to step down from the Board the week before last to give it more of a football focus, said was “sad and disappointed” about Richards’ decision.

Well he might be.

When the Board was trimmed from 12 to seven, it was felt there was more of a footballing feel about it rather than being top-heavy with politicians.

But all Richards’ resignation has done is to highlight underlying tensions between the Premier League and the FA.

Interestingly, Richards was initially ignored when Triesman put the bid Board together, only to be brought on at a later stage when it became apparent it was crucial for the Premier League to have a strong voice.

Now the credibility of the bid has taken another blow just when it seemed that bridges had been built and the infamous row with FIFA vice-president Jack Warner was a thing of the past.

Quite why Richards chose this particular time to make his shock move remains unclear.

It is believed he and Triesman simply cannot work together while some sources have suggested Richards believed Simon Greenberg, the bid’s new chief of staff, was going to take a more international role in terms of general campaigning.

Ironically only a few hours before Richards’ announcement, former board member and Manchester United chief executive David Gill - now a member of a backup advisory group – said during a visit to Kuala Lumpur that the new streamlined Board was far tighter and “more cohesive”.

Andy Anson, the bid’s chief executive, did his best to limit the damage of Richards’ move by issuing what will doubtless be viewed as a cosmetic statement of intent.

“This was a personal decision by Sir Dave but he will continue to support the World Cup bid and use his wealth of international experience to support the campaign,” said Anson.

“He clearly remains committed to helping England win and he’ll continue to go around the world lobbying on our behalf.

“This is not a Premier League issue.

“Sir Dave has made his own decision about his place on the board, so we’ve accepted his resignation and we move on.

“I’ve spoken to [Premier League chief executive] Richard Scudamore and David Gill who are out in Kuala Lumpur with Peter Kenyon working for the Premier League and supporting the bid.

“They are fully behind what we’re doing and it was encouraging to hear that being emphasised.

“They have done some excellent work on our behalf around Asia on their current trip.”

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