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LONDON—Winning football's World Cup is arguably the toughest feat in all of sports. Earning the right to stage the sport's showpiece event may be a close second: a delicate game of money, politics and navigating world football's complex power structure.

That is the goal the officials behind England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup are shooting for this week, as the country welcomed a delegation from FIFA, world football's governing body, and the bidding campaign entered its critical final phase.