A delegation from the Sunderland 2018 World Cup bid team have presented the region's official bid document to Lord Triesman, Lord Mawhinney and Andy Anson of the England 2018 Committee.

The group - led by Sunderland AFC chairman Niall Quinn and the Leader of Sunderland City Council, Cllr Paul Watson - formally presented Sunderland's bid alongside 14 other bidding cities at Wembley Stadium.

The bid has been supported by celebrity and business figures from around the region as well as Middlesbrough FC, Hartlepool United, Carlisle United and Darlington. Children from around the region also made the trip to London to represent the bid's partner clubs.

Led by chairman Quinn, the delegation made the long trip on the Black Cats' brand new team bus before meeting with England 2018 representatives to present their bid alongside 14 other cities.

Speaking after the official handover, Cllr Watson said: "This is a very proud day for Sunderland. The support we've had for the bid from the city and the whole of the region has been fantastic.

"There's a real buzz around the region and people are talking very positively about our bid. Having the region hosting games at such a prestigious world event would be fantastic and everyone is very excited."

Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn paid tribute to the "incredibly hard-working" bid team and says the city of Sunderland - and the region as a whole - is more than ready to host World Cup games.

"Structurally and procedurally, we're ready - in terms of transport, looking after fans, fan fests, press areas and other aspects, we're fine. What we really had to get across was the region's passion and will to make this tournament the best it can be.

"It was important to us to show what the real Sunderland is like. The support for the bid has been great up to this point and it's great to see the region getting behind us."

Over 50,000 people have signed up to Back The Bid and 1,000 headed down to the Stadium of Light on Sunday to help chairman Quinn film a special promotional DVD. The passion of the region's fans has left a lasting impression on Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones, who joined the bid team as an official England 2018 Ambassador.

"The sheer level of support up here is incredible," said Jones, who finished as Sunderland's top scorer last season and played in the 2006 World Cup for Trinidad and Tobago.

"The fans are absolutely superb - a fact seen by the support we get at Sunderland every single week. The Stadium of Light is tremendous and would be ideal for hosting World Cup games."

Sunderland AFC chief executive Steve Walton added: "Putting this bid together has been a complete team effort across the entire region. That's important - this bid is about the north-east region as a whole, not just about Sunderland."