Leicester's World Cup bid is off to Wembley

It is just 500 words, but it could be the beginning of a dream World Cup fixture for Leicester.

A document outlining how campaigners plan to make Leicester a host city if England is granted the 2018 World Cup was being couriered to Wembley Stadium today.

Officials will outline how they plan to expand the Walkers Stadium to a 45,000-seater venue to meet FA requirements.

They have also written an overview of the county which looks at accommodation, transport links and training facilities, as well as how fans festivals could be staged in Leicester for football supporters who do not have tickets to the game.

All 15 applicant host cities – including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Derby – will do the same today. In one week, an FA inspection team will visit Leicester to see the city and stadium.

Tess Booth, project manager for One Leicester, is helping co-ordinate the bid. She said: "It is about showing the FA we are going in the right direction.

"For the FA, this is the opportunity to respond to what we have done so far.''

Representatives of Leicester's bid team went to Manchester on Friday to a host city applicant day. They now know the Walkers Stadium will have to be expanded to a 45,000 capacity.

The bid team is working with organisations such as Loughborough University, district councils and Leicester Tigers, to offer training facilities. Tigers are also involved in England's bid to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup, which is the preferred choice of the International Rugby Board.

David Clayton, Leicester Tigers managing director, said: "If Leicester is successful in hosting a football World Cup, it would be a major achievement for a city to host World Cup events in rugby and football in the space of a few years.

"We are exploring if it would be possible for visiting football squads to use any of our facilities in their preparations."

Leicester City FC has also been heavily involved in putting together the outline bid.

Chairman Milan Mandaric said: "The World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world and attracts the biggest exposure you can get. We are excited and we'll do everything we can to support the bid."

An England 2018 bid spokesman said: "The outline document will form the basis of the final submission and is intended to provide initial information on the applications."