06/11/2009 14:32
- The UK practice to act as business adviser
- Initial analysis suggests England could score £3.2bn from World Cup
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) were this morning officially announced as the first sponsor backing England’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World CupTM.
Ian Powell (PwC Chairman) and Julie Clark (PwC Head of Sport) greeted Paul Elliott MBE ex-Chelsea player and England 2018 board member at the Embankment Place offices today, where they all signed a backing the bid wall set up at Embankment Place.
With a long track record of advising football clubs, from the top of the Premier League through to those in the lower divisions, PwC will act as business adviser for the campaign to host the World Cup 2018 in England.
Led by Julie Clark the 14-strong PwC team will be working to provide rigor and independent advice to various aspects of the bid, helping England 2018 in their discussions with key stakeholders including: the UK government, applicant host cities and FIFA.
Julie Clark, Head of Sport, PricewaterhouseCoopers, said:
"We are tremendously passionate about our partnership with England 2018, as well as the UK sports market, and look forward to providing economic impact assessment, guidance on tax and guarantees, and advice on the budget to the bid team.
"PwC has a strong regional network of offices which is very well aligned with the list of applicant host cities and the sponsorship therefore benefits the firm across the UK."
Preliminary economic impact figures demonstrate staging the tournament could equate to £3.2bn for the country.
Ian Powell, Chairman, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, added:
"We are delighted to have been appointed as the first top tier sponsor for the England 2018 World Cup bid, and I am very excited to champion this with a call to UK businesses to back the bid.
"We also recognise that football has the power to break down barriers and hope that our partnership with England 2018 will help us deliver our own community programmes even more widely across the UK."
England 2018 Chairman, Lord Triesman, commented on the partnership:
"PwC will provide us with excellent support throughout the campaign. We are delighted a firm of such global business pedigree has chosen to support us in this way and feel their services and expertise will be valuable assets to the England 2018 World Cup Bid.
"We have been working with PwC for a number of months and have been impressed by both their professionalism and quality of service. Their experience and track record in sport and on other bids is also significant and we look forward to engaging further with PwC’s network of offices and employees around the world."
Paul Elliott, MBE, England 2018, non-executive director added:
"It is tremendously encouraging that PWC have shown a commitment to rally employees behind the England 2018 with their own ‘Back the Bid’ campaign. Support from the public is vital to the England 2018 World Cup Bid and it is great to see employees from such a respected international company showing their support.
The decision on the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be made by FIFA in December 2010.
sionate about our partnership with England 2018, as well as the UK sports market, and look forward to providing economic impact assessment, guidance on tax and guarantees, and advice on the budget to the bid team.
"PwC has a strong regional network of offices which is very well aligned with the list of applicant host cities and the sponsorship therefore benefits the firm across the UK."
Preliminary economic impact figures demonstrate staging the tournament could equate to £3.2bn for the country.
Ian Powell, Chairman, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, added:
"We are delighted to have been appointed as the first top tier sponsor for the England 2018 World Cup bid, and I am very excited to champion this with a call to UK businesses to back the bid.
"We also recognise that football has the power to break down barriers and hope that our partnership with England 2018 will help us deliver our own community programmes even more widely across the UK."
England 2018 Chairman, Lord Triesman, commented on the partnership:
"PwC will provide us with excellent support throughout the campaign. We are delighted a firm of such global business pedigree has chosen to support us in this way and feel their services and expertise will be valuable assets to the England 2018 World Cup Bid.
"We have been working with PwC for a number of months and have been impressed by both their professionalism and quality of service. Their experience and track record in sport and on other bids is also significant and we look forward to engaging further with PwC’s network of offices and employees around the world."
Paul Elliott, MBE, England 2018, non-executive director added:
"It is tremendously encouraging that PWC have shown a commitment to rally employees behind the England 2018 with their own ‘Back the Bid’ campaign. Support from the public is vital to the England 2018 World Cup Bid and it is great to see employees from such a respected international company showing their support.
The decision on the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be made by FIFA in December 2010.
Notes to Editors:
About England 2018 boiler plate
The England 2018 World Cup Bid was officially launched in May 2009 at Wembley Stadium by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, England 2018 Chairman Lord Triesman and England 2018 Vice-President David Beckham.
England is one of eight competitors bidding to host the 2018 tournament and one of 10 bidding to host the 2022 tournament. The decision for both tournaments will be announced in Zurich in December 2010.
More information can be found on England 2018 at http://www.england2018bid.com.
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