Exclusive: John Barnes Says Jack Warner is Behind England 2018 Bid

(WFI) England 2018 ambassador John Barnes believes controversial CONCACAF president Jack Warner will see out his unexpected show of support for England’s host bid.

After meeting Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Friday, Warner said it was “England’s time” to host the World Cup finals.

Given Warner’s reputation for skullduggery, the England bid team will not take his show of support as a given.

But bid ambassador John Barnes believes Warner “secretly” favors England’s World Cup bid.

“Secretly I believe that Jack is a supporter of England, although he doesn’t like to be seen to be a supporter of England,” he told WFI.

“Jack is very strong-minded, he would have the benefit of world football as his utmost thoughts. So while he has been making seemingly negative comments towards England I’m sure he is quite positive towards us.”

Barnes retains close links to the Caribbean and describes his relationship with Warner, who he has known for years, as “very good”.

He was born in Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, and lived there until his teens when he moved to England with his Jamaican diplomat father. A vastly talented winger and forward, he is best remembered for the stunning goal he scored for his adopted country against Brazil at the Maracana, in June 1984, and for his outstanding contribution to the great Liverpool team in the late-1980s.

His one period of success in a subsequent managerial career was a nine-month spell in charge of Jamaica until June this year, in which he led them to first place in the Caribbean championships.

Asked if he would use his connections in the Caribbean to lobby on behalf of England 2018 Barnes admitted that that was “probably” why the 2018 board invited him as an ambassador. “Ultimately it means nothing though, the important thing is the quality of the bid.”

Warner’s change of direction
Warner, one of the most controversial figures in world football, has previously been a strident critic of England 2018, describing the bid as “lightweight” and castigating the bid team for giving his wife a Mulberry handbag.

Warner's support is seen as crucial to England's hopes of winning the bid. In his role with CONCACAF, he will effectively control three of the 24 votes on FIFA's executive committee when it chooses the 2018 hosts next December.

Friday’s meeting with Gordon Brown signaled a change in Warner’s public utterances.

"I was very impressed by Brown's humility, his sincerity, his knowledge of the game, and most importantly he didn't feel England had any divine right [to host the tournament],” Warner told the BBC.

"He felt that England's time had come - a point to which I subscribed.

"Next week I will meet David Beckham in Cape Town. These are not for my ego, but they are the assets that the bid should be using and I am happy to see that they are being used."

Written by James Corbett (james@worldfootballinsider.com)

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