The grounds on the category 'A' list include Wembley, which is to be rebuilt over the next three years, and the Millenium Stadium in Manchester which will be a centre-piece of the Commonwealth Games in 2002.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has indicated a preference for South Africa to stage the 2006 tournament, but the republic faces a massive task to put the necessary infrastructure in place in time for the deadline for applications.

Football Association campaign director Alec McGivan said: "This shows that England can offer the most wonderful choice of grounds to FIFA for the 2006 World Cup.

"I don't think any country which has bid for a World Cup has ever been able to offer such a large number of high-class stadiums."

Extra stadia can be added to the list and five grounds - Arsenal, Bristol City, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham and West Ham - have been designated category 'B' while decisions are taken on how to upgrade them.

The category 'A' grounds are (capacity in brackets):

• Aston Villa (51,000)
• Blackburn (40,000)
• Chelsea (42,000)
• Coventry (40,000)
• Derby (40,000)
• Everton (40,000)
• Leeds (45,000)
• Leicester (40,000)
• Liverpool (45,000)
• Manchester United (67,500)
• Middlesbrough (42,000)
• Millenium Stadium (50,000)
• Newcastle (51,000)
• Sheffield Wednesday (40,000)
• Sunderland (42,000)
• Wembley (80,000)