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Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged £ 2.8 million for a possible joint bid by England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to host the 2030 World Cup, saying it is “time. suitable “to” bring football home.
There will be some raised eyebrows on the fact that the government is willing to be part of a new bid for the World Cup given the disastrous campaign for the 2018 tournament, hosted by Russia, which cost £ 19 million and saw the bid eliminated in the first. round of voting with only two votes from the FIFA executive committee.
In an interview with the Sun, Johnson said: “We are really looking forward to bringing football home in 2030. I think it’s the right place. It is the home of football, the time is right. It will be something absolutely wonderful for the country. “
Plans for a renewed bid were first announced by UK Sport in October 2018 and a feasibility study will continue before the formal bidding process begins next year.
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Simon Morton, UK Sport’s chief operating officer, has vowed that the FA will take a very different approach this time after being widely criticized for courting controversial FIFA figures, such as former Concacaf president Jack Warner, who was later banned. UK Sport is also confident that the new FIFA World Cup voting rules make it much more likely that a British and Irish bid will be successful.
On Monday night, the Football Association said it welcomed “the government’s promise of £ 2.8 million for a possible bid” for the 2030 World Cup.
A joint statement issued by the English Football Association and the football associations of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland read: “The football associations and government partners of the UK and Ireland are delighted that the government of the United Kingdom has pledged to support five – association bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
“We will continue to conduct feasibility work to assess the feasibility of an offering before FIFA formally opens the process in 2022. Hosting a FIFA World Cup would provide an incredible opportunity to deliver tangible benefits to our nations.”
The 2022 World Cup will take place in Qatar next year, while the 2026 tournament will take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico. England have not hosted the World Cup since the victorious 1966 campaign.
London, Glasgow and Dublin are among the 12 host cities for the delayed 2020 European Championships, which is scheduled for this summer.
