Triesman was forced to resign after he was secretly recorded passing on unfounded allegations about other bidding nations.

Some reports have suggested the fall-out has left the bid on the back foot, but FIFA have decided there will be no action against England 2018 and Mawhinney, the former chairman of the Football League, said the campaign was in good hands under the new leadership of Britain's FIFA vice-president Geoff Thompson.

Mawhinney told Press Association Sport: "I think we have moved beyond that particular episode and I think we remain extremely competitive.

"The world of international football knows Geoff Thompson extremely well and has a lot of confidence in him.

"He will do this job very well and I will support him in any way I can."

Mawhinney said Triesman too had moved on, adding: "I had lunch with David in the House of Lords last week and it had clearly been a shock and disappointment to him but he is now looking to the future."

Mawhinney was in Cape Town, South Africa, today opening an indoor football centre built by the charity 'Hope Through Action' and part-funded by the Football League.

The charity was set up by Philip Green, chief executive of water providers United Utilities, who said the £1million Mbekweni Community Sports Centre was the sort of international development programme that English football was becoming renowned for.

Green added: "Thousands of people will use this centre and we are so pleased that we have managed to raise the money to open it right at the start of the World Cup in South Africa."