The Cantona Effect brought cameras, funds and fans flooding into Bath City football club earlier this year and its chairman believes Bristol's 2018 World Cup bid could do the same for the South West.

Former Manchester United legend Eric Cantona dropped into Twerton Park in April for a fundraising evening connected with the release of Bath City fan Ken Loach's film Looking for Eric.

It raised £12,000 for the non-league club's coffers and brought rare publicity to a side playing in the Blue Square South division.

Now the team's chairman, Geoff Todd, is backing Bristol to cause a similar stir if selected as a host city in England's 2018 World Cup bid.

The England bid team has 16 cities to choose from and 12 spaces to fill with Bristol and Plymouth offering the only options if the South West is to be included.

"All the top-flight teams in the Premier League are generally from the North West or London so there should be a concentration (of proposed World Cup venues) there," Mr Todd told the Evening Post.

"But after that, when you come down to some of the regional venues it is about time the South West was looked at.

"It is not just what we've achieved, it is what we might achieve.

"Who says that this isn't the shot in the arm we need to do that."

The Bristol bid team has included hotels and training facilities in Bath, Swindon, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire as potential team bases in its bid, which would help spread the impact of a visit from some of the world's best players to grass roots and non-league football clubs in the region.

"It is difficult to compete with some of the major brands on TV so anything that puts a little excitement into local football has to be good," said Todd.

"Cantona shows that we have a little bit of a track record. And we would love to draw on any team staying here.

"Bristol City and Swindon Town have had their moments but the region has never been considered a hotbed of football.

"But it does have honest supporters and I think it is time the South West had representation at the top table. And that could change quite quickly if you could establish events like this here.

"For Bath City, we've fallen behind the likes of Cheltenham (Town FC) and Yeovil (Town FC) but we might be there by the time the World Cup comes round.

"It always provides a massive boost and if you look back at the places and the teams where the World Cup is being held the exposure and the investment makes a difference."