Sepp Blatter has said in an interview with the BBC that he would like the race to host the 2018 World Cup to be more open. Under the current rules, only countries from the CONCACAF region could bid, but Blatter is eager for a rule change that may allow England to push forward a bid to host the tournament.

Blatter said: "I am advocating we open the market - it will give a better competition.

"We are not in a very comfortable situation in South America. We only have one bidder and, if we maintain this rotation system as we have now, that could be the case again. It would be better to have three or four associations trying to get the number one competition of the world."

Richard Caborn, the ambassador for the 2018 World Cup, has said: Caborn said: "It's good to hear Sepp Blatter is supporting the case for a more open competition for the World Cup in 2018. Staging the World Cup is an enormous prize and tremendous privilege, which is why it deserves a proper open competition."