.

Mr Todd said the new stadium would be ready in time for the 2014/2015 season.

Sources close to the Football Association said that Plymouth had submitted an impressive bid in a very short time.

Plymouth's bid "arrived" in the Green Army hot-air balloon that was inflated outside the stadium early yesterday.

James Coulton, deputy bid director, said: "It's the accumulation of three months of hard work. Everyone has pulled out all the stops."

The bid document covers everything from the stadium to hotel rooms for the tens of thousands of fans who would descend on Devon and Cornwall for World Cup matches.

The bid – which is fully backed b y Devon and Cornwall – was given a boost this week by the news that arch rivals Portsmouth have dropped out.

Argyle striker Rory Fallon joined the Plymouth team. A goal from Fallon, a New Zealander, sensationally put his home country into the 2010 World Cup this month. He stood on the turf at Wembley yesterday and vowed: "I'll play here one day."

DIARY: Road to Wembley for city bid

Plymouth headed for London to make its case to be a host city for the 2018 football World Cup.

With hundreds of millions of pounds riding on the outcome, project director Keith Todd pulled together a team representing all of Devon and Cornwall, with Plymouth at its hub.

Political Reporter Keith Rossiter joined them on the road to Wembley.

10.30pm Wednesday. Ibis hotel, Wembley. Argyle executive director Keith Todd gathers the Plymouth 2018 bid team together for a final briefing. He emphasises the three core messages: people, places, football. As a finale, he shows them the drawings for Argyle's proposed new stadium. We are all blown away.

11pm Argyle mascot Pilgrim Pete puts in some last-minute training with a nightcap from the hotel bar.

1.30am Thursday. No sleep for the project team, who are locked in an hotel room checking and rechecking that their thousands of pages of documents are in order.

Bidding cities have to comply with strict guidelines laid down by FIFA and the Football Association.

8.30am Outside the Wembley Ibis hotel. The team load five boxes of documents into their minibus for the short trip to the stadium. Team members walk to the stadium to be greeted by the giant Green Army hot-air balloon inflating in the stadium car park.

The green balloon catches the attention of rush-hour traffic and TV cameramen.

9.15am Argyle disability team player Gemma Williams is enthusiastically kicking a ball with striker Rory Fallon.

Teenage diving world champion Tom Daley poses in front of a statue of Sir Bobby Moore. "This is an amazing opportunity for the people of Plymouth and the whole of the South West," Tom says. "We don't get many opportunities like this."

10am The bid boxes are delivered and signed for. The team poses for photos with Lord Mawhinney, whose selection panel will study the documents. All the cities will be recalled to London for interviews in mid-December, before the final choices are made. "Some people will be disappointed," Lord Mawhinney warns.

10.30am Argyle mascot Pilgrim Pete stands on the sidelines of the Wembley turf and says: "I'm here! Perhaps this will be a good omen for the rest of the season."

He is joined by Fallon, who scored the sensational goal that put New Zealand, his home county, into next year's World Cup in South Africa.

"One day I'll play here," Fallon whispers.

10.45am As we are ushered away from the pitch, we pass the Bristol bid team, and some of their young members are heard chanting: "Green Army!"

Paul Stapleton says: "This is about the whole of Devon and Cornwall. Clubs like Exeter and Torquay have been very supportive.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we win the bid and the United States team plays in Plymouth in 2018, just before the Mayflower 400 celebrations?"

11am Argyle head coach Paul Mariner, who has played at Wembley, says: "People try to tell you we're too far away to count. That's nonsense. As someone who has lived in America, I can tell you the distances are tiny.

"In South Africa, where the World Cup will be held next year, it's a thousand miles from Johannesburg to Cape Town.

"It doesn't matter where the games are – people will come."

12 noon Exhausted bid members sit down for a buffet lunch. Cllr Glenn Jordan, a member of Plymouth City Council's Cabinet, says: "The real work will begin if we win, because then we have to impress FIFA and help England to get the World Cup here."

He praised Plymouth politicians who had united to back the bid. Rivals Portsmouth fell at the final hurdle, when their city council voted to withdraw their support.

12.15pm The Herald infiltrates the Newcastle bid team and interviews former England striker Alan Shearer and 1966 World Cup legend Jack Charlton.

Shearer sings the praises of Newcastle's offering, but adds that whoever wins, the whole exercise is great for English football.

Conclusion: there is little doubt that Plymouth's presentation has been of the highest order. Bid director Keith Todd brought in Bafta-winning Magic Lantern creative director Anthony Lilley to put together a highly professional package along with project managers Paul Kass and Chris Low.

Plymouth's 2018 World Cup bid promotional video.

Plymouth Argyle World Cup bid promotional video with Helen Chamberlain.

Argyle press conference: Plymouth bid to host World Cup. Filmed August 21. 2009.