British Airways announced today that it will be flying the hopes and dreams of all English football fans as the official airline of the England football team.

England coach Sven Goran Eriksson and his squad of players will start their England World Cup bid with British Airways when the players and their families fly to Dubai on May 13 for a week’s training camp.

From there the players will fly on a dedicated British Airways Boeing 777 to Jeju Island in South Korea for a warm up match against the host nation on May 21.

During the flights, each player will be able to stretch out across the range of British Airways products including the flat beds in First Class and Club World. For those who want to experience the on-board entertainment, all seats throughout the cabins have individual television screens offering some of the world’s best in-flight programming.

The deal means that British Airways will be the official carrier of the squad up until 2004 encompassing not only the World Cup but also the European Championships in Portugal.

British Airways Director of Marketing Martin George said: “British Airways is very proud to be carrying the England team to the world’s greatest football event. We’re sure the players will do their millions of fans proud and we wish them the very best of luck during the tournament. We’re very hopeful we won’t have to bring them home until after the 30th June - as the winners of the 2002 FIFA World Cup”.

The Football Association’s Director of Marketing, Paul Barber, said: “I am delighted that The F.A. and British Airways are involved in this partnership. Clearly, transporting the England team during the World Cup is vitally important and it’s great news that we’re on board together to make this happen successfully.”

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