One of the UK's largest higher education providers has put its support behind Bristol's 2018 World Cup bid by exploring the benefits the tournament would bring to the city.

The City of Bristol College, which caters for more than 30,000 students across the South West region, has engaged pupils old and young in World Cup related projects on 10 of its courses – the results of which will accompany the bid team's final submission to Wembley on November 9.

Students have been asked to create promotional films, research the opportunities for business and social development in the region and document the effect on their own communities should the West host World Cup matches for the first time.

Director of foundation, skills and progression, Nella Stokes, told the Evening Post the college was seeking to showcase the range of people who would benefit from a successful bid.

"Our project is about taking a slice of Bristol," she said. "Football affects peoples lives and shapes their learning. Whoever you are, football has that international flavour. It has an electrifying effect. I went to the first presentation by the Bristol bid team for leaders in Bristol and I was amazed by what I heard.

"The opportunity for Bristol is immense. The amount of people who would come here and the links to development. I came back full of it. It really has that link to learning. It is an amazing opportunity."

Pupils aged 16 to 60 are now producing work to bolster Bristol's bid including youths from one of the college's successful outreach projects.

Tutor Mark Rooney has been running the college's Education Unlimited programme (EUL) using football to engage disaffected youngsters in Hartcliffe, one of the city's most deprived areas.

The 39-year-old set up a football team in the Pro Five league in Brislington and took them from hapless wannabes who were hammered 16-2 in their first match in League Eight, to winning the centres' Champions League two years later.

Now the teenagers, aged between 17 and 19, are enrolled in courses at the college and heading into full-time employment.

"They find themselves quite isolated in Hartcliffe so we were trying to get them out through football and playing different teams around Bristol," said Mr Rooney.

"Once we had the football hook we could bring them into education."

His charges are now making video and audio on the "social human development" that World Cup football can bring to Bristol.

Mr Rooney highlights the case of Luke Brooks who was excluded from school at the tender age of 13 and never returned. Now 18, Luke is in full-time employment after becoming involved with the EUL programme and remains a part-time student.

Mr Rooney said: "Luke is now working and driving and is an everyday kind of guy when it could have gone so wrong."

The tutor has had a brush with international football himself with which to regale his pupils. Last year he represented England in a 'namesakes side' who were flown to the European Championships in Austria by sponsors Nationwide after England failed to qualify.

Now he wants to help bring the action to England.

"I grew up in Bristol and there's been talk of a new stadium for what, 25 years? It is high time Bristol was seen as an international city and hosting World Cup football would certainly achieve that," he said.

To help make it happen go to www.thisisbristol.co.uk/worldcup, text "Bristol" to 62018, and sign up to the Bristol 2018 group on Facebook.