End to Rotation Policy Opens Way for England World Cup Bid

England's chances of hosting the 2018 World Cup received a huge boost today after Fifa scrapped its policy whereby the tournament rotates between continents.

Under the current system, the World Cup will go to Africa for 2010 (South Africa won the contest), South America for 2014 and - if rotation continued - would go to a country from north and central America or the Caribbean in 2018. But Fifa vice-president Chung Mong-Joon said today that the body's executive committee had unanimously agreed to scrap the system, leaving England free to put forward a bid.

Gordon Brown is keen for the tournament to come to England as part of his legacy as prime minister, and spoke of a potentially great decade of sport in Britain when he met Fifa's president Sepp Blatter last week. "We will have the Olympics in 2012, potentially the Commonwealth Games in 2014 [in Glasgow], perhaps even the Rugby World Cup in 2015," he said, "and then to be able to host the 2018 World Cup in England would be a marvelous completion of the best sporting decade in our history."

There has been some tension between the Football Association and Mr Brown's World Cup ambassador, Richard Caborn, over a potential bid though and Soho Square is said to be cautious about the bid given their failed attempts to hold the 2006 tournament. Russia, the Benelux nations, Italy, Australia, China, Mexico and possibly the United States are expected to launch bids too.