Bristol's 2018 team has given the city the best possible chance of realising its goal of staging FIFA World Cup football with the appointment of Rovers and Tottenham great Gary Mabbutt MBE as an ambassador for the city's bid.

To call it a coup would be to understate the worth of Spurs' longest-serving player, a former England international and a man who has a unique insight into the process of staging the most-watched sporting event in the world, having worked on South Africa's successful bid to host next year's tournament.

First and foremost perhaps, Mabbutt is a Bristolian. Born and raised in the region to a family steeped in the local football scene.

His father, Ray, played for the blue half of the city, Bristol Rovers, for more than 400 games over the course of a decade at the club, featuring in every position bar centre-half.

His elder brother, Kevin, played for the red half, Bristol City, when they were last in the top flight, earning his place in the hearts of the City faithful with a hat-trick against Manchester United at Old Trafford – only the second player to do so in Football League history.

Gary followed his father's footsteps to Rovers after spending his youth turning out on the wide open reaches of the Downs like so many other amateurs, honing the skills which were to propel him so far.

Within four years of his Rovers debut he was in the top flight with Tottenham and went on to lift the 1984 UEFA Cup, the 1991 FA Cup and earn 16 caps for his country.

His England record was exemplary – unbeaten with 11 clean sheets from the 13 competitive fixtures he played in.

It is Mabbutt's CV since he hung up his boots, though, which makes him such a remarkable signing for the bid team.

The gently-spoken rock of the defensive lines he mustered while at Eastville and White Hart Lane, Mabbutt has matured into a political figure within the football fraternity.

For the past nine years he has worked on South Africa's successful bid for the 2010 World Cup and subsequent planning to stage the event.

He knows the movers and shakers at FIFA HQ, shares plane journeys and social calls with the powers-that-be at the Football Association and can quote the FIFA scripture on requirements to bid for and host a World Cup.

"I think Bristol has got an excellent opportunity," Mabbutt told the Evening Post. "Bristol should be the gateway to the South West.

"One of my favourite parts of the country is Exmoor and North Devon, and if you are bringing people over to see the World Cup they can share these splendours between games.

"The fact I have been asked (to be an ambassador for Bristol) is an honour for me.

"It is very nice to be involved and, if we are successful, working on a World Cup in this country would be a tremendous thing to be part of.

"There's a lot of work that needs to be done to get people out there onboard and we need the people of Bristol and the South West to really show their support for the bid.

One of the first people to hear of Mabbutt's new role, which he will fill alongside his 2010 commitments with South Africa, was Prince Charles, whose son, William, is president of the FA.

Mabbutt was invited for lunch at Highgrove earlier this week for his work with the Prince's Trust and brought up the subject of 2018.

Bristol's name as a potential World Cup host venue is growing in stature, and with it the deserved opportunity for the sixth biggest city in England to be part of a mighty sporting spectacle come 2018.

Head of the South African 2010 World Cup team Danny Jordaan has been full of praise for Mabbutt's involvement in his country's campaign.

He told the BBC: "I describe vision as seeing victory before it is achieved and Gary was one of the people who had the vision to see a World Cup in South Africa."