Lord Triesman, the chairman of England’s troubled 2018 World Cup bid, took a hatchet to his rebellious boardroom last night and brought in two of football’s key powerbrokers.
Within 24 hours of revelations by The Times that the campaign team were hopelessly divided and that his leadership was facing serious questions, Triesman called an emergency board meeting.
Under severe pressure to act quickly and decisively, he was left with little alternative but to put his faith in a new inner cabinet and ditch the unwieldy board that had leaked innuendo and smears while appearing top-heavy with politicians.
Out went Gerry Sutcliffe, the Sports Minister, while it became clear that Richard Caborn, the Prime Minister’s ambassador to the bid, would no longer be invited to meetings as an observer. While the board went into talks lasting four hours, Caborn was on his way home to his Sheffield constituency.
On to a more streamlined and focused board comes Geoff Thompson, the former Football Association chairman and a key member of the Fifa executive committee that will vote next year on which nation gets the 2018 World Cup.
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He joins a board trimmed from 12 to seven but, crucially, still includes Lord Coe, also the chairman of the London 2012 Olympic organising committee (Locog), whose deep misgivings — revealed by The Times — helped to trigger last night’s rapid response.
Sutcliffe has been removed from the main board and switched to an advisory group, along with David Gill, the Manchester United chief executive; Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of the advertising company WPP; Simon Johnson, chief operating officer of the 2018 bid; Sir Keith Mills, deputy chairman of Locog; and Karren Brady, the former Birmingham City managing director.
Triesman has also turned to David Dein, the former Arsenal vicechairman who is regarded as one of the best-connected men in the game, to fill a role as a roving diplomat. With £75 million in the bank after bowing out of a club he helped to transform into one of the most envied in the world, Dein has the time and credentials to meet and greet key figures in world football.
Just as important, Triesman appears to have quelled antagonism from the Premier League by ensuring that Sir Dave Richards, the chairman, is given a more important role.
Triesman has endured stinging criticism for not being forceful or direct enough, but his reaction to fears that the bid was in danger of slipping away was swift and decisive.
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Triesman said: “These changes send a loud message of an absolute determination to bring the World Cup to England.
“This is the most competitive World Cup bid in history and while [England] is well placed to succeed, it will only do so if football, and all those involved in the bid, remain supportive of the campaign and the bid team. Today we have received the clearest indication that the Premier League and the Football League are united with us.”
Triesman still has to face fraught negotiations with the Government over the offer of a £2.5 million loan to help to fund the bid.