Prince William's Soccer Bid
12 October 2009
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Britain's Prince Williams has pledged to help England land the 2018 soccer World Cup.
The prince - a keen fan of the sport - has promised to do whatever it takes to help ensure the bid to stage the tournament is as strong as possible.
His assurances come following FIFA vice-president Jack Warner's recent claims that England are not doing enough to make a convincing application.
A spokesperson for William - who took over as president of the Football Association (FA) from Prince Andrew in 2006 - said: "He is very supportive of the bid and will do his part in whatever way the FA deems appropriate.
"Prince William is heavily involved and will remain so until the winning bid is announced in December 2010."
William's reassurances came after Jack said last week: "It is time to wake up. I am saying that if you don't get your act together you will lose."
The duke is 88 and he and the queen have decided that travelling long-haul is too much for them
It has been claimed the FA are reluctant to rely on William after he failed to travel to Singapore to back the bid for London to hoist the 2012 Olympics, opting instead to fly to New Zealand to join the British Lions on their rugby tour.
However, a friend of the royal reassured: "There is no question mark over his commitment to the World Cup."
Meanwhile, William is hoping to travel to New Zealand early next year in his first overseas trip in place of Queen Elizabeth.
He is already due to visit Australia but it is expected he will also take on the trip to the neighbouring island as the 83-year-old queen and her husband, Prince Philip, want to cut down on their long-distance travels.
A source said: "The duke is 88 and he and the queen have decided that travelling long-haul is too much for them. It is hard work and the thought is that the younger royals should be carrying out more duties.'
A source at the Prince's Clarence House office said: "William sees it as an honour to be asked to carry out an official duty on behalf of the queen."
A spokesman for Clarence House declined to comment.
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