Cameron courts FIFA´s Warner for World Cup bid

British Prime Minister David Cameron will host FIFA vice-president Jack Warner for a two hour lunch in Zurich, Switzerland next week to rally support for England’s 2018 World Cup bid, Warner said late Wednesday.

Warner, who is also the Minister of Works and Transport on the twin-island Caribbean nation, said he has “accepted” Cameron’s invitation.

“He called me to ask me for my support for the English bid and he asked me to join him for lunch next Thursday,” Warner told reporters in Trinidad.

“He also hoped David Beckham was a good ambassador and said that if there was anything he can do for Trinidad and Tobago he will be prepared to do so,” Warner said.

Warner said he has not made up his mind which country he would support in the 2018 bid, but told the British PM that Russia was England’s strongest challenger.

“If he can overcome the Russian bid, which I think is gaining momentum, he doesn’t have a problem”, Warner said.

“I don’t think he has to worry too much about the other countries”, he added.

Warner will miss Cameron’s meeting with FIFA in Zurich on Friday because of “critical” issues in his home country.

Cameron indicated his intention to visit Trinidad and Tobago to meet with Warner and Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar.

A statement from CONCACAF, of which Warner is President, said the FIFA Executive will meet on December 2 in Zurich to decide which countries will be granted the rights to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup Tournaments.

Warner has wished the Cameron and his team “all the best” in their bid.

England, Russia and joint bids by Spain-Portugal and Netherlands-Belgium are in the running to host the 2018 World Cup while Australia, the United States, Japan, Qatar and South Korea are bidding for 2022.