COUNCIL chiefs have defended their decision to visit South Africa as part of an England 2018 World Cup bid delegation, writes Political Reporter Keith Rossiter.

Barry Keel, chief executive of Plymouth City Council, said lessons learned by the delegation would save the city far more than the £5,700 cost of the five-day trip.

Mr Keel, council leader Cllr Vivien Pengelly, and Doug Fletcher, chairman of Plymouth's 2018 World Cup bid group, returned from South Africa this week.

They said they had learned valuable lessons by seeing first-hand how South African authorities have organised their tournament.

The visit, which took in three cities and three matches, was organised and partly funded by the Football Association. Plymouth City Council paid £5,700.

The trio watched three World Cup matches.

They saw South Africa draw against Uruguay at the 43,000-seat Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, similar in size to Argyle's proposed extended Home Park stadium.

In Cape Town's magnificent Green Point stadium they watched a disappointing draw between England and Algeria.

The biggest stadium they visited was Johannesburg's Soccer City, where Brazil beat Ivory Coast 3-1.

Mrs Pengelly said they were part of a 40-strong group from the potential host cities who met South African organisers and saw first-hand the pitfalls of staging World Cup matches and Fan Fests.

She said she had kept the trip secret for security reasons. "If I had told the media, I would have been telling the whole of the city that I was away.

"I have been told by the police not to tell anyone when I'm away.

"In the past we have had two Lord Mayors who were burgled when they went on publicised trips.

"I certainly didn't want to come back to a house that has been ransacked. My security is of paramount importance."

Mr Keel said that last year city councillors voted unanimously to support Plymouth's bid, and there was no need for another debate on whether to send a delegation to South Africa

"It was very important that Plymouth was represented at a high level. If we had not been there it would have sent a poor message about Plymouth's level of ambition and commitment."

Fifa will decide in December whether England should host the 2018 World Cup.

Plymouth is one of 12 cities short-listed to host games in the tournament, but there is no guarantee that all 12 will be chosen.

Mr Keel said that Plymouth's absence could have harmed the England bid as well as Plymouth's own chances.

Mrs Pengelly said: "We did think long and hard about whether we could afford to take part in the visit at a time of economic difficulty, but on balance we felt it would have been a false economy not to have gone.

"It would have sent out a very poor message about the seriousness of our ambitions for the city."

The delegation flew economy class on British Airways, and travelled in the three cities by coach. They met football and civic organisers, project teams, security experts and stadium designers.

"The important thing was to show Fifa and the FA that Plymouth are up for it," Mrs Pengelly said.

"They certainly know now that we want to be part of the bid.

"I would hate for Plymouth not to get it just because we thought it wasn't important enough.

"If we wanted Plymouth to be a small backwater town on the South Coast then fine, but if we want to be a vibrant European waterfront city then we had to do this."

Mrs Pengelly said they learned a number of valuable lessons about transport, security, cleaning staff — and even the number of toilets a city would need.

She said that in Cape Town Nike had sponsored two youth training centres with fitness suites.

She believed Plymouth could find a sponsor for similar facilities.

Mr Keel said his counterparts in South Africa had warned him of the need to be tough in negotiations with Fifa.

It is estimated that 3,700 jobs could be created in Plymouth if we host World Cup games in 2018, bringing in £292 million.

The bid is a regional one, backed by Devon and Cornwall which will host Fan Fests and training camps.