Premier League to support England's flagging World Cup bid

The Premier League have announced a raft of measures designed to help England's 2018 World Cup bid at a critical moment in the campaign.

The bid will be promoted via perimeter boards at the 20 top-flight clubs, in club publications and websites, and will be promoted by Premier League executives during negotiations for overseas broadcast rights.

The league's international good causes programme will also be aligned to the bid's legacy objectives.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said: "Everyone involved in English football, at all levels, knows what an exciting prospect bringing the FIFA World Cup to England would be, which is why it is important for the Premier League and our 20 clubs to support the bid in the best way we can.

"We have been working hard with [bid chief executive] Andy Anson and his team to look at how we can support their efforts as we enter a crucial phase in the bid process.

"The Premier League's exposure combined with the clubs' communications and marketing expertise will give England's bid a presence and impact around the world worth millions of pounds and will get their message out right across the world.

"In the Barclays Premier League we have many of the world's best players competing in some fantastic stadia - we hope that we can use the interest this generates to promote the England 2018 Bid and highlight this country as an excellent potential FIFA World Cup host nation."

The clubs will also be used to offer hospitality to influential figures in football as the campaign develops ahead of the vote by FIFA's executive committee in December next year.