England's dream of hosting the 2018 World Cup has ended in disappointment after Russia won the right to stage the tournament.
President Sepp Blatter made the announcement after a ballot by the Fifa executive committee in Zurich shortly after 3.30pm.
Joint bids by Spain and Portugal as well as Holland and Belgium also lost out.
Sources close to the English bid said England did not even make it to the final round of voting.
Fifa executives also voted to choose the 2022 World Cup hosts with Qatar winning the contest.
Qatar beat bids from Australia, the United States and 2004 World Cup co-hosts Japan and South Korea.
The England 2018 bid team had hoped the lobbying of Fifa members by Prince William, David Cameron and David Beckham in recent days had given them an advantage.
Source - Yahoo News.