Paul the octopus¹, the oracle² of the World Cup in South Africa, has become an official ambassador for England's bid to host the tournament in 2018, organizers said Friday.

有关组织者于上周五称，因预测南非世界杯而一举成名的神算章鱼保罗已成为英格兰申办2018年世界杯的官方形象大使。

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Paul the Octopus is returning to his native England to boost his country's ailing bid to stage the 2018 World Cup.

Paul, who was hatched（孵化，策划） in England but has spent the last two years in an aquarium⁴（水族馆） in western Germany, joins footballers David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton and singers Noel Gallagher and Sting in backing the bid.

"Paul has spent the last two years of his life in Germany, but he is definitely a proud Englishman and is therefore delighted to put his support behind England 2018," said Nicola Hamilton, manager at the Weymouth Sea Life Centre in southern England, where Paul was born.

"We have had a number of football approaches from around the world but Paul was only ever going to choose his homeland."

She said Paul had officially retired⁵ from predicting matches, a skill that won him worldwide fame during this year's World Cup when he correctly predicted the outcome of seven Germany games and that Spain would win the final.

"With his predicting days behind him Paul is now concentrating on a number of new projects and the England 2018 campaign is something we are sure he feels passionately⁶（热情地，强烈地） about," Hamilton said.

Following his prediction success, Paul has signed a book deal, is due to appear in a film and is the face of a range of merchandise（商品，货物） , with the proceeds to be donated to charity, according to the England 2018 bid team.

A delegation⁷ from world football body FIFA arrives on Monday for a four-day visit to assess England's bid.

England is competing with Russia, the United States, Australia, and joint⁸ bids from Spain and Portugal, and Holland and Belgium to host the 2018 tournament（锦标赛，联赛） .

The winning bids for 2018 and the 2022 World Cup will be revealed on December 2.