England's 2018 World Cup bid team reshuffled

Under-fire Lord (David) Triesman, the chairman of the Football Association and the man tasked with leading the bid to bring the 2018 World Cup to this country, yesterday moved to quell concerns about the status of the bid by rejigging his top team. Out went the current and previous sports ministers - Gerry Sutcliffe and Richard Caborn - from the inner cabinet, and in came Triesman's predecessor as FA chairman Geoff Thompson, who is also a member of Fifa's key executive committee that will vote on the bid.

Triesman has slimmed down the executive board from 12 members to just seven, but he has retained the services of Olympic supremo Lord Sebastian Coe, whose recent warnings about the bid's status had prompted yesterday's reshuffle. The full board now is: Triesman; Thompson, Premier League chairman Dave Richards, Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney, Lord Coe, Paul Elliott and 2018 bid chief executive Andy Anson. "These changes send a loud message of an absolute determination to bring the World Cup to England," Triesman told reporters yesterday.

Sutcliffe will now serve on an advisory group that also includes David Gill, the Manchester United chief executive; ad man Sir Martin Sorrell; Sir Keith Mills, deputy chairman of Locog, the London Olympics organizing committee; and Karren Brady, the former Birmingham City managing director and new assistant to Sir Alan Sugar on The Apprentice. Triesman has also found a roving ambassadorial role for David Dein, the former Arsenal vice-chairman who possesses one of the most enviable contacts books in world football and who was instrumental in Sven-Goran Eriksson being picked as England manager

"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," Triesman said, answering the fears that the board had become riven with dissent. "Today we have received the clearest indication that the Premier League and the Football League are united with us." His reference to the Premier League reflects the importance of having Dave Richards on the board; it will be his members providing all of the stadiums for the tournament (save Wembley).