World Cup 2030: UK bid to host tournament backed by government

The British government would be “happy” to back a bid to host the World Cup in 2030, a spokesman for Theresa May has said.

Asked about a potential effort to bring a tournament to the UK - as suggested by Labour, the Downing Street spokesman said: “We are happy to sit down with football bodies and discuss any proposals they might have to bid for the World Cup in 2030, we have a superb track record for putting on major sporting events."

When asked whether the government would favour a UK-wide bid over one by England alone, the spokesman said: “We would wait for them to come forward with proposals and look at those in the context of our track record, UK-wide, of delivering these sorts of events.

“The UK as a whole has an excellent record in putting on sporting events.”

Britain has already been mooted on several occasions as a potential host of the tournament in its centenary year.

UEFA, the governing body of European football, said last year it would support a British, or even a wholly English bid to host the World Cup in 2030, while the idea has also received backing from the German football association.

Any application would face competition from a joint bid by Uruguay, which hosted the first edition of the tournament in 1930, Argentina and Paraguay, announced in July 2017.

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, said on Sunday his party would a support an “England-led” bid to host the competition in 2030.

“It's the national game, it can bring the country together, it can give us hope,” he told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme.

“We were disappointed in 2018 when we did the World Cup bid, it seems to me that we should be bidding for the World Cup 2030.

“That's a few years off and we don't know who's going to be in government in a few years' time.

“If we're in government, I hope it's one of the first things a Labour government does, which is work with our FA to try and put a World Cup bid together.

“If the Conservatives are still in government, then we'd like to work with them to make sure that a bid is successful.”

England failed in an attempt to host the 2018 World Cup in a bidding process which was eventually won by Russia.

The month-long event ended on Sunday with France being crowned champions for a second time following a competition heralded by many as one of the best ever.

England also applied to hold the tournament in 2006, before Germany was instead selected as host.

The 1996 European Championships was the last major international football tournament to be staged in Britain.