IT’S TIME TO CUT AND RUN ON WORLD CUP BID WITH ENGLAND
THERE was never a good sporting reason for Ireland being part of a joint bid with the UK to host the 2030 World Cup. This was a political stunt, driven by the British Government as part of their drive to become more influential as a global player in the aftermath of Brexit.
Hosting a World Cup would help restore Britain’s pomp, and it would also be important in attracting business and investment in their brave new world.
The attraction to Irish politicians was even more basic: World Cups are enormous events, viewed all over the world, and the prospect of some reflected glamour was irresistible.
Astonishingly, it remains so. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said on Monday morning, as the urine, blood and vomit were barely dry on the streets around Wembley: ‘I’m 100 per cent behind that bid. I’m really encouraged by it and keen Ireland should be part of that’.
STRANGE Olympics was envisaged, given the seriousness of the crisis in Tokyo and the suffocating restrictions governing the Games.
But a sense of how fragile the entire operation is, has become clear in recent days.
Organisers insist that there have been relatively few positive cases among the 8,000 arrivals in the past week. Yet among them was an athlete, as well as members of the Russian and Czech support staffs.
It makes predictions for medals difficult, because a favourite could be ruled out in an instant.
There was not a convincing case to be made for Ireland’s involvement last Sunday morning, but 24 hours later the bid was turning toxic and those involved on the Ireland side should have been hacking their way out of the agreement and putting as much distance between themselves and the English FA as possible.
Everyone knows that the hooligans who went berserk around Wembley a week ago are a minority, but they are a large enough minority to ruin the final of the European Championships for thousands of people.
The days since have been filled with accounts of racism, sexism, violence and intimidation, as gangs of English supporters, out of their minds on alcohol and drugs, rampaged through London.
The incidents are expected to do great damage to the UK-Irish bid. One can only hope it finishes it.
And if it doesn’t, and this misbegotten plan stumbles on, the Irish Government and the FAI should have nothing to do with it.
While expressing his support for the bid on Monday, Varadkar also insisted the majority of England fans shouldn’t be tarred by the behaviour of the few.
Yet here was the second most senior figure in our Government explaining away a controversy caused by hooligans from another country.
This won’t be the last time Irish politicians or FAI officials are forced to answer for louts chanting about the IRA or World War II, or sticking lit flares up their bottoms.
It hardly constitutes a position of strength. But then the English FA have roped in the Irish north and south, as well as the Scots and the Welsh because they have failed twice in the past 15 years with World Cup bids of their own.
Both failures exposed a myriad of failures in the English pitch, not least their unpopularity abroad, and so four smaller unions have been tied in with them for 2030 to try and soften the appeal.
Providing the acceptable face of a bid driven in large part by the imperial posturing of Boris Johnson is an ignoble state.
The dismal events of a week ago now provide the Irish side of this bid with an exit strategy. This is the chance to break free from a plan with no clear upsides for Irish soccer.
Hosting tournaments cost money, and even if Ireland will only bear a fraction of them given the involvement of the four UK countries, there are better uses for investment in Irish soccer.
The FAI are struggling financially, and if the State is of a mind to invest money in the sport, it could fund the underage game or the salaries of new development coaches.
The costs associated with bidding will run to millions, while the potential financial windfall is not clear.
It is easy to see why politicians are beguiled by big sports events. Gay Mitchell’s claim that Ireland could host the Olympics is the most famous instance of it, but there was also huge political heft behind the 2023 Rugby World Cup bid.
That was an ill-conceived adventure, too, and the thought of another promo video with Liam Neeson whispering about poets is terrifying.
Yet there are probably camera crews already dispatched to every bog in the land, desperate for dawn shots of mist rising off the peat.
And with the advent of an outdoors summer, expect loads of footage of old men playing accordions surrounded by gap-toothed kids. It’s all too horrible to think about. Hosting a World Cup will provide no lasting benefit to Irish sport. In the midst of England’s difficulty with the return of hooligan problems, lies Ireland’s opportunity.
It’s time to cut and run.