PR expert red cards England’s World Cup campaign
Red faces abounded after England crashed out of their recent 2018 World Cup bid but with nothing now left to play for but the blame game fingers have begun pointing at corrupt FIFA officials and the British press.
For PR expert Mike Lee, who helped mastermind Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid, however the cause of defeat is rather more alarming from an English point of view, he believes the bid was doomed from the off.
Speaking to the BBC Lee said: “I'm not sure it is healthy to blame everyone else, and not reflect on the campaign itself,” adding: “This England bid campaign was not Premier League, it was relegation and League One.”
Lee focused his attention on key figures within the bid team, particularly the bid chairman: “It was clear to everybody that Lord Triesman was not the right choice. He was not popular among his fellow colleagues here in English football. He was terribly unpopular in international football and for nearly 60% of the campaign we were hampered.”
However Lee refused to apportion any blame on the shoulders of bid ambassadors, David Beckham, Sir Keith Mills and Lord Coe who he reckons performed a sterling job.
Indeed Lee suggests Beckham should be given a greater role as an ambassador for the sport, particularly as his playing career comes to an end.