FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF president Jack Warner, seen at a conference in February, now favours England to host soccer's 2018 World Cup. (David Ramos/Associated Press)FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has apologized for denigrating England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup and said Saturday that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has convinced him to back the campaign.
Warner is a member of the 24-person FIFA executive committee that will decide the 2018 and 2022 hosts in December 2010. He had dismissed England's bid as lightweight during a visit to London last month.
After meeting Brown on the sidelines of the Commonwealth summit in Port of Spain, Trinidad, his home country, Warner now says England deserves to host soccer's biggest tournament.
"It was an exceptionally good meeting — it was the best case I have heard for a long time about the World Cup being in England," Warner said Saturday.
"He said, and I agreed with him, that England has the best infrastructure to stage the tournament and that, after a 52-year gap, this is England's time."
Warner's comments are in stark contrast to what he said during a speech at the Leaders in Football conference when England's bid leaders were panicked by the CONCACAF president's withering assessment of their hopes.
Other European contenders are Russia, Netherlands-Belgium and Spain-Portugal. Also bidding are Australia, Japan and the United States, which Warner is backing for 2022. Indonesia, Qatar and South Korea have applied only for the 2022 tournament.
