Joint 2030 World Cup bid by Ireland and Britain to get shot in the arm

THE momentum for a joint 2030 World Cup bid in the spring by British and Irish football associations is expected to build today with the drawing up of a shortlist of potential stadiums.

A meeting between governing bodies is the latest in a longrunning feasibility study by Britain and Ireland after failed bids by England for 2006 and 2018.

A broad agreement has already been reached that any bid should not be too London-centric – with a maximum of three stadiums in the capital under consideration.

The talks in Rome take place after England’s standing with the FIFA received a timely boost.

Greg Clarke, the English FA chairman, was elected vicepresident of the world governing body yesterday, replacing David Gill in the £190,000-per-year (€217,000) role.

Clarke is among the officials meeting in Rome today, along with FAI CEO John Delaney, to discuss World Cup credentials across Britain and Ireland.

Some of the UK’s biggest grounds – such as Old Trafford, Anfield and, potentially, Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium – would need significant modifications to meet FIFA’S hosting specifications.

Perspective

From an Irish perspective, currently just the Aviva Stadium and Croke Park are the only two stadiums that would appear to meet FIFA’s criteria.

It is expected that the FAI and the English FA will agree on a 40,000seat minimum for the bid.

Northern Ireland’s Windsor Park has a capacity of just 18,000 but FIFA have final say on which venues would be used.

The latest meeting, triggered by a UEFA Congress gathering of international officials in Rome, is the second time the associations have met to discuss the bid.

At a previous meeting of the executive committee, president Aleksander Ceferin indicated that European football’s rulers will throw their weight behind the Irish-British bid to host the 2030 World Cup finals.

“I will do whatever I can to have one European bid for the 2030 World Cup because that raises the chance of Europe hosting the finals,” he said in Dublin last December.

Ceferin also previously welcomed the decision of the FAI and IFA to launch a joint bid for the 2023 European U-21 Championship finals.

“I think the bid by itself shows that football is above politics,” said Ceferin. “For me, it’s a very interesting idea.” (© Daily Telegraph, London)