UK and Ireland abandon World Cup 2030 bid in favour of Euro 2028
The UK and Ireland have given up on their joint bid for the 2030 World Cup and will instead focus on securing Euro 2028.
The national associations of England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland have concluded the continental finals represents a better option than the global centenary tournament after conducting a feasibility study, which was backed by government money.
A statement from the associations read: “Hosting a Euro offers a similar return on investment, with the European tournament carrying a far lower delivery cost and the potential of the benefits being realised sooner."
The World Cup bid had been criticised as an “expensive vanity project” by Julian Knight, the Conservative MP who chairs the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, after the failed solo attempts by England to stage the 2006 and 2018 World Cups.
The statement added: “It would be an honour and a privilege to collectively host Euro 2028 and to welcome all of Europe.
"It would also be a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the true impact of hosting a world-class football tournament by driving positive change and leaving a lasting legacy across our communities.
“We believe the UK and the Republic of Ireland can offer UEFA and European football something special in 2028 – a compact and unique five-way hosting collaboration that will provide a great experience for the teams and the fans."
Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said both tournaments offered a similar return on investment but added: “When you look at it for the Euros, we’ve got a very clear bidding landscape and bidding timeline and, when we assess everything for that, we know we can put together a highly-competitive bid.
“I think with the World Cup, there’s many areas of uncertainty, in terms of the timeline in terms of the frequency of the events, and so on.”
Mr Bullingham said he believes the five-nation bid for a finals expected to feature 32 of UEFA’s 55 member countries would be viewed favourably, as the confederation seeks to rebuild its finances following the Covid-19 pandemic.
With five potential national teams hosting the 24 or 32 team tournament, the associations said they may need to discuss the number of automatic hosting spots they would be offered.The chaos which marred Wembley’s hosting of the Euro 2020 final last summer does not appear to have turned UEFA against staging big events at the London venue – with the inaugural ‘Finalissima’ match between European champions Italy and South American champions Argentina taking place there in June.
During the final of Euro 2020 large crowds of England fans managed to get into the game without tickets, with security cordons breached.
Several fans managed to get in through the disabled access entrance with several people hurt.
Nineteen police officers were injured during the course of the policing operation.
UEFA announced last year that parties interested in hosting Euro 2028 need to confirm that interest by March 23, with the bidders to be announced on April 5.
The bidding process for the 2032 finals will also run in parallel.
It is expected the tournament could have expanded from 24 to 32 teams by 2028, making a five-nation bid more attractive to UEFA.