Qatar and Russia won the right to host events

Also claimed it had the best

Revelation: Senior Fifa official Harold Mayne-Nicholls claims England had the strongest World Cup bid despite earning just two votes

The senior Fifa official who was tasked with assessing competing bids to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups has claimed that England 'was by far the strongest contender'.

Harold Mayne-Nicholls, chairman of the group that evaluated strengths of bids, concluded that England had the best infrastructure and strongest public involvement - both essential to staging a successful tournament.

The revelation is of little consolation after England bid's was condemned as ‘improper’ by a Fifa ethics panel last week.

Russia, which won the 2018 bid, and Qatar, selected as 2022 hosts, were handed a clean bill of health by the panel despite suspicions they may have bribed their way to success.

Mr Mayne-Nicholls toured all 11 countries who competed to stage the two World Cups, including the winners, and said England's offering was unmatched.

England won just two votes in a ballot of Fifa's 22 executive committee members (Exco), with Russia winning the right to host the 2018 event.

Mr Mayne-Nicholls told The Sunday Times: 'England were on the top. They had the best concept, the best infrastructure and the people were very much involved.

'How could England have only got two votes? It was a big surprise. I was there and I saw the faces of Prince William and [David] Beckham, and they were shocked.'

Prince William was left ‘bitterly disappointed’ in 2010 as he, David Beckham and David Cameron watched England win just two votes despite having privately secured the pledges of at least five Fifa delegates.

The trio felt ‘lied to’, according to one England bid member who said it was ‘embarrassing that William and the Prime Minister have lent their good names’ to the project.

William was reported to have objected to having to fawn to FIFA officials who had assembled in Zurich to decide which countries should host the World Cup finals of 2018 and 2022.

He was quoted as having said: ‘I don’t see why we have to suck up to these people.’

Bid team: David Beckham and Prince William were part of the FA delegation in Zurich in 2010

Mr Mayne-Nicholls added: 'It's like when you are a first division team and you play a third division team and you lose by five goals.'

His words are likely to fuel further allegations that Russia and Qatar bribed Fifa officials to choose their bids.

Last week Fifa agreed they would publish a report into the bribery allegations - having previously attempted to keep it secret.

Mr Mayne Nicholls said there was clearly suspicion surrounding the voting but claimed Michael Garcia, the American lawyer charged with producing the report, had limited power.

Prince William, Beckham and the Prime Minister share a joke at a meeting before the announcement that Russia would host the World Cup in 2018, not England

David Beckham pictured with Fifa delegates, including president Sepp Blatter (right) in 2010 - when he, Prince William and David Cameron attempted to secure pledges for England's bid for the 2018 World Cup

Sepp Blatter, Fifa President confirmed he would publish the 430-page report produced by by Mr Garcia - who resigned as Fifa's ethics investigator after complaining that the organisation's summary of his report was wrong.

The Sunday Times recently exposed how Mohamed Bin Hamman, a former Qatari vice-president of Fifa, made dozens of payments worth millions of dollars to senior football officials to help his country secure World Cup 2022.

As well as allegations of bribery, some countries have also been accused of trading votes.

Quit: Michael Garcia resigned as Fifa's ethics investigator after complaining that the organisation's summary of his report into corruption allegations was inaccurate

In one instance Mr Bin Hamman is said to have promised Qatari support for the Spanish 2018 bid in return for Spain backing Qatar's 2022 bid.

Mr Mayne Nicholls is now considering opposing Sepp Blatter for Fifa's presidency - the Swiss is once again standing for reelection despite being 78 years old.

He has been visiting countries in Europe, building up support for a potential bid for the top job.

Mr Mayne Nicholls, a former Chilean football federation president, believes the result of 2010's voting exposes the weakness in Fifa.

He said Qatar was 'too hot' and 'too small' - and the idea of one city hosting the World Cup posed a number of problems.

Standing for reelection: Sepp Blatter, 78, is hoping to stay on as Fifa president after 16 years in the job

With four games being played in one single day there will be 160,000 fans occupying a city with a population of just 800,000.

A breakdown in the city's transport system could cause havoc for thousands of travelling fans.

He also highlights the decision to combine bids for both World Cups as a mistake - as this made it more likely that countries would breach the rules by vote trading.