Bookmakers and England fans are at odds over who will host the 2018 World Cup.
Poll backs England to secure 2018 World Cup
Bookmakers and England fans are at odds over who will host the 2018 World Cup.
Nearly half of voters in a
skysports.com poll believe England will be chosen to host the 2018 World Cup, despite recent controversy surrounding the Panorama documentary aired earlier this week.
Panorama alleged three senior Fifa officials who will vote on the 2018 and 2022 bids took bribes in the 1990s.
Uefa president Michel Platini has insisted the Panorama investigation will not affect England's bid, but bookmakers appear more sceptical than readers with regards to the validity of those claims.
Sky Bet currently regard England as joint second-favourites to host the 2018 World Cup at 11/4 - the same price as Spain and Portugal's joint bid.
Russia, who are bidding for the World Cup for the first time, are 8/11 favourites, but only one in five
skysports.com readers think it will be given to them.
Spain and Portugal have also garnered more votes than the favourites Russia with over 25 per cent.
Their impressive bid submission, which includes the Camp Nou and Santiago Bernabeu as part of their 21 stadia, has seen their odds cut from 8/1 in mid-November to their 11/4 price now.
Sky Bet's Helen Jacobs said: "The Panorama documentary is generally thought to have seriously dented England's hopes of hosting the World Cup, which is reflected in the drift in the odds.
"It seems that those who believe England still have a good chance of being chosen aren't putting their money where their mouth is. However, we'll be absolutely delighted if on Thursday it turns out that the odds were wrong and football is indeed coming home in 2018."
There is one thing voters and bookmakers can agree on, however - 40/1 outsiders
Holland and Belgium have only received a mere 2.6 per cent of the vote.
