THE North-East was given a glowing endorsement by Fifa delegates as they wound up their four-day assessment of England’s bid to host the World Cup in 2018.

Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the Chilean federation president who led the six-strong Fifa delegation, singled out Middlesbrough Football Club’s Academy for special praise.

The North-East’s role in the bid has come under intense scrutiny as the delegates met representatives of Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle United football clubs.

Mr Mayne-Nicholls said: “We were impressed with the kind of facilities and services the football academy of Middlesbrough Football Club offer to the community.

“The academy is definitely one of the best of its kind and would be an ideal training site for a team participating in the Fifa World Cup.

“The concept you are coming up with that every single team would be hosted by a domestic professional football team makes perfect sense to us.

“It would guarantee that all the teams would be able to practise in perfect conditions.”

The inspectors report will be delivered to the 24 members of the Fifa executive committee in October, ahead of the final announcement in December.

Mr Mayne-Nicholls said: “We can positively sum up that all the needs and objectives of our visit were met. We are positive that a World Cup in England in 2018 or 2022 would be a great experience with a long-lasting legacy.”

Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson last night welcomed his comments. “I was delighted, though perhaps not altogether surprised by Mr Mayne-Nicolls’ kind comments,” he said.

“We do believe that the combination of state-of-the-art training ground and luxury hotel provides a perfect World Cup site for any of the international teams.

“While protocol means I can’t comment specifically on any of the conversations we had privately with Fifa, no one who visits the region can fail to be impressed by its passion for football, its superb facilities and the friendliness of its people.

“I believe it is highly significant not only that England 2018 chose to spend so much time in the North-East, but that Fifa’s base for checking out the facilities offered by Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle was Rockliffe Hall.”

England 2018 bid chief executive Andy Anson said the team needed to exceed the expectations of the delegates in order to impress them.

He said: “I think everyone knows that with the strength of the Premier League and the Football League we have a lot of the right facilities.

“We’ve got a very, very strong Premier League, we are very fortunate in that regard, so to get the opportunity to give something back, which is what the World Cup would give us, is very important. The focus on global legacy means there’s something that we are giving back to the rest of the world."