G4S, the world’s leading secure solutions group and an official ‘Back the bid’ Supporter of England’s 2018 World Cup bid, has today been tasked with delivering the 2018 World Cup Bid Book to the headquarters of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in Zurich, Switzerland.
A highly specialised, secure vehicle left Wembley Stadium this morning to transport copies of the Bid Book and supporting materials to the headquarters of the football world’s governing body in time for the bid’s scheduled delivery slot on 14 May. The 18 ton truck will transport the bid materials from Wembley Stadium 987 km (613 miles) across mainland Europe to FIFgA’s headquarters in Zurich. The vehicle will pass through France and Belgium, en route to delivering the bid in to the hands of Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA. The official bid documents are secured in 42 specially designed flight cases and G4S has been responsible for securing international customs clearance for this precious cargo. The project will draw on the combined expertise, operational network and ability to provide secure logistics services worldwide of G4S’s UK-based Secure Solutions, Cash Solutions and International Logistics businesses.
David Taylor-Smith, Chief Executive Officer, G4S Secure Solutions (UK & Ireland) commented: “We are delighted to be an official ‘Back the bid’ Supporter for England 2018 and welcome the opportunity to deploy our specialist expertise to transport these valuable documents to FIFA’s headquarters and to have provided security input into the process. G4S manages the security at some of the world’s most prestigious sporting events and we transport billions of pounds of valuable cargo each day through hundreds of countries across the globe. The Football World Cup is a fantastic spectacle, which captures the hearts and minds of millions of supporters across the globe, and we are delighted to play a part in bidding to bring the event to England.”
England 2018 Chairman, Lord Triesman said: “This is a significant week for the bid which will end with the presentation of England’s official bid to the FIFA President, Sepp Blatter. G4S are a highly valued Supporter and we’re delighted the Bid Book is in their professional care.”
In addition, G4S will take responsibility for delivering a copy of the official England 2018 Bid Book to each of the 12 candidate host cities on 14 May. These documents will be delivered to ambassadors of each bid city.