Russia was given the 2018 World Cup at the vote in Zurich yesterday ahead of England who went out in the second round.
Although, the Ricoh Arena had withdrawn early on from the race to be one of the stadiums who wanted to host World Cup matches due to the costs of extending the stadium's capacity, Coventry could still have played its part with Warwick University and or Coventry City's Ryton Training Ground being used as training venues for teams playing matches at either Villa Park or MK Dons.
Speaking to the CT, Mr Gidney (pictured above right) said:"It is a real shame that England will not be staging the World Cup in 2018 and whilst I accept that it would have been absolutely fantastic we shouldn't forget that we are staging the second biggest football tournament in the world when Olympic football matches are held here in two years time."
Picture copyright of Covsupport News Service. Credit CNS/Pete Chambers.