RICOH ARENA CEO CALLS UPON MIDLANDS REGION TO GET BEHIND OLYMPICS IN WAKE OF 2018 DECISION

One of the men responsible for bringing the Olympics to the Midlands said the region should look forward to hosting the world’s second biggest football tournament.

Speaking in the wake of the decision not to award England the 2018 World Cup, Daniel Gidney, chief executive of the Ricoh Arena, said the vote shouldn’t be allowed to overshadow the arrival of the London 2012 Olympics and the 2015 Rugby World Cup to the region.

He said it would prove Coventry and the area as a whole was capable of hosting tournaments on an international stage to match that of the World Cup.

“It is a real shame England will not be staging the World Cup in 2018 and while I accept 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,” he said.

“Some of the world’s most famous players have played in this tournament in the past such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo which emphasises the high esteem the Olympics is held in throughout the world.

“Preparations are already well underway and we are looking forward to it enormously because it will be a wonderful occasion to showcase the venue, the city and the region to a national and international audience.

“To host two of the three most high-profile events in the world is a magnificent achievement and as well as the prestige involved, it will have a major knock-on effect for businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire and the wider sub-region.”