England’s bid for 2030 World Cup ‘should focus on Sheffield’
ANY ENGLAND bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup should be focused in the north, with Sheffield and South Yorkshire leading the way, Mayor Dan Jarvis has said.
The Sheffield Mayor, along with his counterparts in Manchester and Liverpool, have called on the Government to base the majority of the tournament in the north of England in a bid to rebalance the economy and shift the focus from London and the south east.
Mr Jarvis said the tournament could be the ‘catalyst to supercharge the northern economy’ and reset the unbalance with the south.
He also said it would be an ‘amazing’ opportunity to radically overhaul the region’s infrastructure.
Cities which could host matches include Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sunderland and Newcastle amongst others.
No official bid has been announced but if England does apply, it will face competition from a joint South American bid from Argentina, Paraguay, Chile and Uruguay. Another joint bid of Serbia,
Greece, Romania and Bulgaria has also been launched.
Mr Jarvis said: “Bringing a World Cup to Sheffield would not only give us a short-term influx of tourists who would likely spend a significant amount of money to support our regional economy, but also raising the profile of the eyes of the world being on Sheffield and South Yorkshire.
“Bringing people from all over the world to hear our story – Sheffield invented the modern game and that is a huge draw.
“The Olympics in 2012 was a great example of hosting a huge sporting event and the opportunity that was there to invest, upgrade and improve the infrastructure of a particular area.”
Figures show the London 2012 Olympics brought in £10bn to the country, while Manchester’s Commonwealth Games back in 2002 created 20,000 new jobs.
Mr Jarvis said: “Sheffield is the home of football – the north has a very strong offer when it comes to football.”