Bid to get World Cup on track.

ENGLAND'S 2018 World Cup bid leaders were holding an emergency meeting later today to get the campaign back on track as the Government appealed for an end to the turmoil that has engulfed the campaign.

The Prime Minister's 2018 bid ambassador Richard Caborn has called for unity among bid leaders and says the Government is prepared to take a reduced role if it will help the campaign.

Today's board meeting was expected to discuss ways to restructure the campaign to focus more attention on winning the votes of the 24 FIFA executive members who will vote on the tournament hosts.

There is no likelihood, however, of Lord Triesman, the chairman of the Football Association, standing down from his pounds 100,000-a-year role as bid chairman.

The meeting will also attempt to end the internal feuding that has threatened to destabilise the bid, with some directors unhappy at the handling of the damaging remarks by FIFA vicepresident Jack Warner, while others believe the Government have reneged on promises to provide pounds 5 million towards the pounds 15 million cost of the bid.

Caborn insisted the Government was completely behind the bid.

He said: "Our message is that this domestic squabbling and wrangling must stop, and we must get on with winning the votes. From day one we have been very, very supportive and some pounds 5 million of public money will go towards the bid.

"The Prime Minister wants to make sure we will do everything we can to win the bid."