Tony Banks, the British Sports Minister, flew here last night to help seal the deal which is almost certain to see Britain being awarded the 2003 World Championships to celebrate the opening of the new stadium at Wembley.
Banks and David Moorcroft, the chief executive of UK Athletics 98, will have talks with the International Amateur Athletic Fed eration president Primo Nebiolo today.
If Nebiolo receives guarantees from Banks that the British Government is behind the bid, he could announce a decision as early as November, when the site for the 2001 World Championships will also be selected. Stanford in California is the favourite.
Britain has not staged a major event since Wembley was the host for the 1948 Olympic Games.
"The president has two unfulfilled ambitions," said an aide. "One is for the World Championships to be held in the United States and the other is for Wembley to stage the event. It's a place close to his heart because he remembers it from his youth when it was the cathedral of football."
If the plans receive planning permission, work on the 80,000 capacity Wembley is due to begin after the FA Cup Final next May and be completed in 2002.
The Government is committed to using National Lottery money to bring world-class events to Britain. It has already thrown its weight behind England's bid for the 2006 World Cup. It is also planning to launch a bid to bring the 2012 Olympic Games to London. The 2002 Commonwealth Games are to be held in Manchester.
The athletics World Cup has never quite established itself as a major target in the international calendar but it should provide Sonia O'Sullivan with a useful conclusion to her 1998 track season when she represents Europe over 5,000 metres this afternoon.
The IAAF has struggled to attract the world's best to Johannesburg, even offering $50,000 to each individual winner. But the clash with the Commonwealth Games and the general lethargy that hits most athletes at this stage of the year has influenced many to stay away. O'Sullivan, however, was happy to take up the offer. "I've run the World Cup before, although not very well," she said, "so it's a good opportunity to redeem that and have a good race to finish the season."
The previous run for Europe, in London four years ago, saw O'Sullivan finish a disappointing fifth after a brilliant season that included her first European Championship title. This time out there is more reason to believe that the victory could go her way. Her main threats this season, Gabriela Szabo of Romania and Zahra Ouaziz of Morocco, are in the 3,000 metres. That means the battle for the 5,000-metre title should be between O'Sullivan, Shixiang Liu of China, representing Asia, and African champion Berhane Adere of Ethiopia.
O'Sullivan has had 20 races this season for 10 wins, most of those coming where it counts, such as the World Cross-Country and the European Championships. And with the prestige that still surrounds a World Cup win, that should be enough motivation to end the season with a positive win-loss record.
