FIFA vice president Jack Warner has slammed England's 2018 World
Cup bid for failing to wow anyone yet, and insisted the country has
no divine right to host the tournament.
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The FIFA vice president has often caused a stir in the
past.
Warner hit out against the campaign, saying there was "something
wrong'' with the bid and England had not yet given the judges "the
raison d'etre'' to support it.
England has everything needed for a successful bid, but the
judges want to see "something innovative, something creative''
rather than the "same old, same old'' bids, he said.
Warner caused a stir in 2007when he commented in that "nobody in
Europe likes England. England invented the sport but has never made
any impact on world football."
In an interview with Sky News, Warner said: "If I were
an Englishman today, I would not be happy at the progress that has
been made to date. I don't think they have progressed as far as I
would have liked.
"You name it, England have it. But yet they haven't been able to
wow the guys who have to vote for them, then there is something
wrong.
"England, in the eyes of my colleagues and me, does not have a
divine right to host the World Cup.''
He admitted England had the best Premier League in the world,
the best football tradition in the world, the best football stadia
in the world, and star players. But Warner believes the bid is far
from reaching its full potential.
"If I had all these things, I am telling you, any country that
wanted a World Cup bid would be far, far behind me," he said. "I
don't know why this is not so in England.''
He said FA chairman Lord Triesman, who is leading the bid,
needed to step up and "be more visible''. Warner added he will meet
both Lord Triesman and Premier League chairman Sir David Richards
within the next 24 hours and plans to tell them their shortcomings
"in broad terms and in an open and candid way''.