FA spend £35,000 on Caribbean gala to 'boost' World Cup bid

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The Football Association are spending £35,000 to pick up the tab for the Caribbean Football Union's gala dinner tomorrow as part of England's 2018 World Cup bid, it can be revealed.

The dinner, at the plush Hyatt Regency hotel in Trinidad and Tobago, will be attended by a number of England 2018 figures as part of their efforts to woo FIFA's influential vice-president Jack Warner.

It is a significant sum of cash for England 2018 to shell out but Warner for one believes it will be worth it.

Warner told Press Association Sport: "It is costing the FA about £35,000, but I think that is money well spent as it allows them to speak to all 32 countries from the CFU.

"It also means I will be able to get the collective view of my membership about who they think should host the World Cup when the time comes for me to decide who I should vote for.

"And in light of the harsh economic conditions we are battling in the region the FA has agreed to formally partner with us to host the dinner. It is an offer which I have agreed to."

England 2018's take on the £35,000 payment is that it will allow the CFU to spend the money they save on football projects instead.

David Dein, the former Arsenal and FA vice-chairman, will address the gala dinner in his new role as international president of the 2018 bid team.

The following day, the England 2018 party will go to Longdenville, a small village in central Trinidad where Warner's father once lived, where David Ginola will hold a coaching session at the cricket club.

England 2018 will then head to Guatemala where bid chief executive Andy Anson will make a presentation to FIFA executive committee member Rafael Salguero.