LORD Triesman's resignation from England's 2018 World Cup bid board, following allegations about the Spanish and Russian Football Federations which came to light this morning, represents the latest in a string of setbacks for the bid.
Here, Press Association Sport'sTom White runs through the previous hurdles and pitfalls the bid has faced in recent months:
2009: October 6 - Influential FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, the head of the Trinidad & Tobago federation, dismisses the England bid as "lightweight" and warns the Football Association "you have no divine right to host anything".
October 22 - Bid chiefs face criticism over the gift of designer Mulberry handbags, chosen to "demonstrate the best in English craftsmanship", to the wives of FIFA delegates.
November 4 - Warner, who previously criticised England's lack of a "goody bag", returns the handbag which was presented to his wife Maureen.
November 12 - An emergency meeting of the 2018 board sees original board members David Gill, Sir Keith Mills and sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe join an advisory group headed by Karren Brady, while FIFA vice-president Geoff Thompson is added to a streamlined bid board alongside Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards, Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney, Lord Coe, Paul Elliott and chief executive Andy Anson.
November 24 - Richards resigns from the board.
November 25 - Brady expresses concerns over "internal politics" hampering the bid.
2010: January 12 - World Cup 2010 chief Danny Jordaan reacts angrily to comments made by then Hull manager Phil Brown calling South Africa's hosting of the competition into question after the terrorist attack on the Togo squad at the African Nations Cup in Togo.
May 5 - FIFA president Sepp Blatter expresses his preference for the Russian bid, saying: "We know England can stage the World Cup. But England winning (the right to stage it) - I am not so sure. I was (in Russia) recently and what they presented is remarkable."
2009: October 6 - Influential FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, the head of the Trinidad & Tobago federation, dismisses the England bid as "lightweight" and warns the Football Association "you have no divine right to host anything".
October 22 - Bid chiefs face criticism over the gift of designer Mulberry handbags, chosen to "demonstrate the best in English craftsmanship", to the wives of FIFA delegates.
November 4 - Warner, who previously criticised England's lack of a "goody bag", returns the handbag which was presented to his wife Maureen.
November 12 - An emergency meeting of the 2018 board sees original board members David Gill, Sir Keith Mills and sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe join an advisory group headed by Karren Brady, while FIFA vice-president Geoff Thompson is added to a streamlined bid board alongside Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards, Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney, Lord Coe, Paul Elliott and chief executive Andy Anson.
November 24 - Richards resigns from the board.
November 25 - Brady expresses concerns over "internal politics" hampering the bid.
2010: January 12 - World Cup 2010 chief Danny Jordaan reacts angrily to comments made by then Hull manager Phil Brown calling South Africa's hosting of the competition into question after the terrorist attack on the Togo squad at the African Nations Cup in Togo.
May 5 - FIFA president Sepp Blatter expresses his preference for the Russian bid, saying: "We know England can stage the World Cup. But England winning (the right to stage it) - I am not so sure. I was (in Russia) recently and what they presented is remarkable."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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