Bloomberg joins US World Cup bid team 07/12/2009 |
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New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has joined the board of the United States’ World Cup bid.
The bid committee hopes Bloomberg will add further weight to a board that already includes California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger and senior executives from companies such as Walt Disney and ESPN.
Chairman of the US bid committee Sunil Gulati said: “Mayor Bloomberg’s accomplishments as a businessman, philanthropist and administrator are well respected in this country and worldwide. His vast experience will play an instrumental role at many levels of our bid, including the continued development of the legacy and sustainability components of our bid.”
Bloomberg added: “New York is the most diverse city on earth, with football fans from every country, and all of us are firmly behind America’s proposal to host the Fifa World Cup in 2018 or 2022. The United States, and New York City in particular, is an ideal place to host an extraordinary international event that welcomes the world, and to showcase the planet’s most popular sport.”
Meanwhile, the US bid committee has accused rivals Spain-Portugal of sabotage after Luis Figo interrupted a vital presentation.
Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber said the presentation was “totally ruined” when the Portuguese legend turned up late for his own session and distracted reporters and photographers.
“There’s an element of fair play in our sport,” added Garber. “That was bad form.”
A decision on who will stage the 2018 and 2022 tournaments will not be made until December next year, but the bids were outlined to the media in a series of presentations in South Africa at the end of last week.
Former Spain captain Fernando Hierro, who arrived with Figo, blamed a transport problem for their late entrance.
“It wasn’t our fault,” he said. “We were waiting for our car and it was delayed.”
Miguel Galan, a spokesman for the Spanish bid, added: “I’m so sorry - it was not intentional.”
The US Soccer Federation confirmed it would not be making an official complaint.
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