Npower to sponsor England 2018 bid

England 2018, the team leading England’s bid to host the FIFA World Cup, has signed Npower as a sponsor.

The energy firm becomes the bid team’s fourth partner following PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), British Telecom and Morrisons.

The bid team is trying to build a portfolio of commercial partners to demonstrate that England has the support of the business community. The sponsors are also looking to build support for the bid among their customers.

For its part, Npower is calling on its customers to “pledge their support” for the bid as well as promising to help businesses in the bid’s 12 host cities “net dramatic savings by cutting their energy use and carbon footprint”.

Npower sponsors Wembley Stadium as well as the English cricket team’s home test series’ against Australia. It is also understood to be in advanced negotiations to take over from Coca-Cola as title sponsor of the Football League.  

England 2018 has ten months to convince football executives that England should host the tournament. Other bidders include Australia, Russia and the US.

The bid was criticised by FIFA vice-president Jack Warner last year, who labeled it “lightweight” amid reports of a funding shortfall. The team has since restructured its board and brought in consultancy firm PwC to provide independent advice last year.

The bid team is planning digital activity to target domestic and international fans and persuade FIFA members that England’s bid has backing from supporters globally.