England's failed attempt to host the 2018 World Cup: Bid book shows what might have been

Eight years ago, former England captain David Beckham presented England's bid to host World Cup 2018 to then Fifa president Sepp Blatter.  

Here are the the key stats and figures from the book handed over to Blatter, which outlined the cities and stadiums that hoped to stage matches.

Instead of Manchester, London and Leeds though, the teams were to face off in Moscow, St Petersburg and Sochi as Russia won the bid in controversial fashion.

'England 2018' in numbers

• 1.1 billion ($) - (£750m) was to be invested in grassroots football projects in England up to 2018

• 1 billion - people globally to be reached by legacy programmes inspired by a Fifa World Cup in England

• 897 million ($) - projected ticket revenue

• 400 million ($) - in-stadium hospitality profit

• 30 million - attendances at English football last season

• 28 million - total number of people expected to attend Fifa Fan Fests

• 10.5 million - involved in grassroots football

• 3.5 million - tickets for the tournament

• 700,000 - in-stadium hospitality covers

• 400,000 - rooms offering the broadest range of accommodation

• 693 (km) - farthest distance between two candidate host cities (Plymouth to Newcastle)

• 300 - languages spoken in England

• 100 (%) - public transport solution for each match

• 90 - countries that have benefited from development projects supported by the English football family

• 82 - possible team base camps, exceeding Fifa requirements by 25 per cent

• 60 ($) - (£40) cheapest ticket

• 55 - Premier League and Football League clubs involved in the bid

• 17 - match stadiums

• 13 - current stadium, ensuring minimal financial risk

• 12 - candidate host cities to ensure a true national bid

• 4 - new stadium builds

• 2 - Fifa Fan Fests per candidate host city, exceeding Fifa requirements

World Cup 2018 | Fixtures, groups, squads and more

Proposed stadiums

• London Wembley Stadium - net capacity 84,700 Emirates - net capacity 55,141 New White Hart Lane - net capacity 53,000

• Manchester Old Trafford - net capacity 67,000 City of Manchester Stadium - net capacity 43, 350

• Liverpool Anfield - net capacity 40,000 New Anfield - net capacity 68,500

• Newcastle / Gateshead St James' Park - net capacity 48,500

• Sunderland Stadium of Light - net capacity 44,207

• Birmingham Villa Park - net capacity 42,400

• Sheffield Hillsborough - net capacity 40,000

• Leeds Elland Road - net capacity 47,000

• Plymouth Home Park - net capacity 40,000

• Milton Keynes Stadium MK - net capacity 40,300

• Bristol Ashton Vale - net capacity 40,300

• Nottingham Nottingham Stadium - net capacity 41,500

World Cup kits ranked

Beckham's letter ahead of his ill-fated trip to Zurich

This is an amazing honour for any English man or woman.

Nothemba, Eddie and Kadra are with me today representing the England bid.

Four years ago Eddie was unemployed, lived in a tough area of Manchester where crime was high and drugs were rife. Many of his friends were in gangs but he wanted a different life and volunteered for the Manchester City community Kickz programme.

Now he works full time for the Manchester City Foundation where he leads and motivates young people and in 2009 he won the Kickz “Inspiring Young Person of the Year Award”.

Kadra moved to England from Somalia when she was 8. She was called up to play for the national team but her culture’s traditions and views prevented her from accepting the honour. Kadra used this disappointment as a catalyst to set up a Somali women’s team in west London, changing attitudes about women’s football and bringing women in the local community together.

Nothemba lives in South Africa, is 17, is the captain of her football team and has been coaching young children.

She has been part of the Coaching For Hope Young Leaders’ programme which is an Official Charity Partner of the Football Association and part of the FA’s International Development Programme which has now been running for 10 years.

This programme and others ensures that the success of English football benefits other areas of the world as well as at home.

I met Nothemba last December at the Coaching For Hope project at Khaylitsha, near Cape Town.

It is amazing to visit a project like this and see the effect football has on young people. Football has the power to change lives and these youngsters are able to learn valuable lessons through their love of the game.

I felt privileged to meet Nothemba and the other children and despite the fact we come from different backgrounds we share a love for the game of football.

HIV/AIDS is one of the very real problems in places like Khaylitsha and football must ensure it does whatever it can to help educate young people of health dangers and make a difference.

This is the cornerstone of our bid.

Nothemba is here with me because England supports the World Cup in South Africa, which will be a fantastic occasion, but also because a successful England World Cup bid will help change the lives of countless more Nothemba’s. Eddie and Kadra show what can be done at home. A World Cup in England is not just about what it can do for our country but what it can also do for the rest of the world.

We believe we can achieve more than any other bid. We can stage an amazingly successful tournament with passion, diversity and excitement.

But this is just a platform for the good work that can be done as a result of us hosting the tournament. That is why I am totally committed as Vice-President of our bid to bring the World Cup to England and why I ask you to please pledge your support at www.england2018bid.com.

Hopefully this year we will win the greatest prize in sport twice, by winning the World Cup on and off the pitch.

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