Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier has backed England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
Prime Minister David Cameron and former England captain David Beckham are part of a 30-man group that has flown out to Switzerland ahead of Thursday’s vote to determine the host nation.
And Frenchman Houllier believes the tournament should be awarded to England because it is the “best” of the bidding nations.
The former Liverpool boss said: “I hope England win because I would say we deserve to win this bid. I say ‘we’ because I’m in England, so I’m English and I work in England.
“The dossier is the best, we have got the stadium and the facilities, the hotels, the transportation. Everything is there, all the infrastructure and logistics.
“If we get it then it will be huge because it means for 2018 you have a target and you can prepare for that.”
He added: “It will help the development of youth. It would be very important for the development of football in this country.
“When you have a target, when you know that it is going to be your World Cup, you want to succeed in it.
“It gets everybody together. It brings a lot to the country but also to football.”
You can watch Gerard Houllier's Aston Villa face Birmingham City tonight, live on Sky Sports 1 and at bet365, kicking off at 19.45 GMT.