Andy Anson, European chief executive of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), has been appointed by the Football Association (FA) to lead England's bid for the 2018 World Cup.

Formerly commercial director at Manchester United Football Club, Anson will take up his new post with the FA's Bid Company in January 2009 after 20 months in his current position at the ATP. He said: "This project is a chance for us to show that England can stage a successful tournament on behalf of the football world.

"It's a tremendous challenge and within the excitement there's also a huge responsibility for all of us working on the project." Lord Triesman, chair of the Bid team, said: "In his current role he has been at the centre of professional tennis and has done a tremendous job. His enthusiasm to see that England should earn the right to host the world's greatest tournament is self-evident in everything he says."

Meanwhile, the secretary general of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), Jerome Valcke, has suggested that a decision on who will host the 2018 World Cup is expected to be made by the end of 2010.