October 27 - With just a over a fortnight to go until the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) decide whether it will be London or Doha hosting the 2017 World Athletics Championships, Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson (pictured left) has admitted that England's disastrous campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup has taught him to take nothing for granted.
Robertson admitted earlier this month that England's humiliating defeat at the hands of Russia - when they received only two votes - was "the biggest single failure" of his reign.
But failure to beat Doha and bring the World Championships to Britain for the first time in the event's history would surely run it pretty close.
Britain has a proud athletics heritage and its bid for 2017 is being led by Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012 who is a double Olympic 1500 metres champion and vice-president of the IAAF.
It is also able to offer a new state-of-the-art Olympic Stadium to host the Championships and London officials have promised that it will be full to its 60,000 capacity for every session of the event.
But Robertson conceded that experience of England's failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup was a reminder of the political considerations that go into making up the minds of those who will be deciding London's fate at the IAAF Council meeting in Monaco on November 11.
They are also up against a formidable opponent in Qatar, who have already shown their ability to upset the odds when they were awarded the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
"It's a simple question of 28 people [on the IAAF Council] with a vote, and we have to get 14 of them," Robertson told insidethegames.
"Experience of international bidding competitions, and particularly 2018, shows that these things don't always go on the strength of the bid because there is quite a lot that swells around in the background with any international sporting bid."
Robertson was speaking at the London Hockey Centre, which in itself was a stark reminder that even though Britain can now boast some of the best facilities in the world it is no guarantee of success when it comes to bidding.
London had last year surprisingly lost a bid to host the 2014 hockey World Championships at Lee Valley Hockey Centre, the sport's legacy facility from the 2012 Olympic Games, to the Hague in the Netherlands.
Robertson nevertheless is confident that London's bid for the 2017 World Athletics Championships is the best one on the table.
"We have put together a really first class bid for athletics," Robertson told insidethegames.
"We had the [IAAF] Evaluation Commission here three weeks ago, you take these people into that stadium and show them a 60,000-seater legacy [venue].
"They know there is demand in this country and they know they will have a brand spanking new stadium with the best facilities they can get anywhere in the world.
"It's there in front of them, they can touch it, they can feel it.
"They know they can fill it up, the commercial offer...has never been in doubt, we can do it at the right time of the year for them, I could go on and on.
"It's a very strong technical bid and I hope we can convince them."
Source: www.insidethegames.biz
By David Gold