Surrey Sports Park backs England 2018 bid
Friday 23 October 2009
With London certain to play a central role in England’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Surrey Sports Park has committed to being part of FIFA’s selection process. As part of the country’s bid to stage the FIFA World Cup in 2018, the London Host City bid team has identified a number of potential Team Base Camp hotels and training sites across the city.
The multi-million pound Surrey Sports Park, owned by the University of Surrey, is due to open early next year but is already on the list of proposed Team Base Camp Training Grounds for London and the surrounding regions. Team Base Camps will provide the visiting teams with a ‘home away from home’ and outstanding fitness and training facilities to help them in their final preparations for what is one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
If the England 2018 bid is successful, athletes may be able to benefit from the Surrey Sports Park’s state-of-the-art facilities including 10 football pitches, three floodlit artificial grass pitches, a 120 station health and fitness suite, a 50 metre swimming pool, and consultation and treatment rooms.
Simon Greenberg, Chair of Visit London, said: “We are delighted to be including the new Surrey Sports Park within the list of possible World Cup training camps for the England 2018 bid submission. Surrey Sports Park would provide an incredibly high quality venue to support London’s Host City proposition. They will offer the very best quality football and fitness facilities for a participating nation to use in their preparations for World Cup games. We know that the facility is already lined up to play a central role to major sporting events coming to the London region in the upcoming years.”
Chief Executive of the Surrey Sports Park, Jason Harborow said: “Team Base Camps are an incredibly important aspect of any Host City applicant’s bid and I am delighted that Surrey Sports Park has been recognised amongst the very best sporting and training centres within the region. All of us here at the Sports Park are backing the bid and, if successful, look forward to hosting the competitors in what is amongst one of the best sporting competitions in the World.”
London United has launched a special video to showcase how football lies at the heart of the capital and all its communities. Not only does it demonstrate the diversity and breadth of the sport within the city but it also features a host of iconic landmarks, famous parks and global star players that encapsulate why London is the best location for FIFA to bestow on it the honour of being a key World Cup city.
The ‘Park Life’ film was released to coincide with England's last two World Cup qualifiers and can be viewed at www.england2018bid.com. London is calling upon its football community to help secure one million signatories as part of the campaign, so to pledge your support log onto the England 2018 website and back London’s bid.
Media Enquiries
Peter La, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: +44 (0)1483 689191, or Email mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk
