Football might come home as No 10 is ‘happy to talk’
THE GOVERNMENT is open to discussions on a possible bid to host the football World Cup in 2030, Downing Street has said.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s official spokesman said Ministers would be “happy” to talk with footballing authorities about any proposal they might want to put forward to Fifa.
And the spokesman did not rule out the possibility of a UK-wide bid taking in all four home nations, saying it would be for sporting bodies to come up with their preferred format.
Reports suggest that the Football Association has already had private talks with the other home nations about the possibility of a joint bid for the 48-team event.
England failed in attempts to stage the world’s premier football tournament in both 2006 and 2018, losing out to Germany and Russia respectively. Meanwhile, France’s victory over Croatia attracted the smallest UK TV audience for a World Cup final since current records began.
An average 11.4 million people watched from kick-off to final whistle, according to overnight ratings – 8.6m on BBC One and 2.8m on ITV.
The figure is almost half the number who saw France last win the World Cup in 1998. Some 22.2m watched that match, the biggest UK audience for a World Cup final since comparable records began in 1981.
England striker Harry Kane won this tournament’s Golden Boot after scoring six goals.