Joint World Cup bid a top priority for SFA president
SFA PRESIDENT Rod Petrie hopes the trouble that marred the Euro 2020 Final at Wembley will not ruin Scotland’s hopes of co-hosting the 2030 World Cup.
A joint bid between the four nations of the UK and the Republic of Ireland is being prepared ahead of the centenary edition of FIFA’s global competition.
Having successfully staged four matches at the Euros, Petrie believes Scotland is well placed to contribute to a World Cup bid but images of ticketless fans forcing their way into Wembley for the final between England and Italy brought an unedifying conclusion to this summer’s tournament. ‘There are incidents at games from time to time,’ said Petrie in the wake of an unremarkable SFA annual general meeting. ‘I don’t think there would be World Cup games where there would be 20-30,000 empty seats inside and supporters would have that knowledge.
‘There were incidents but it’s not for me to comment — it’s up to the authorities to investigate thoroughly and properly.
‘They will take whatever action is appropriate as a result of that and, importantly, learn lessons.’
Despite being engaged in an ongoing health struggle, Petrie has made the World Cup bid one of the key focuses of his presidency.
He added: ‘We’re still at a feasibility stage where we’re looking at things with our bid partners.
‘There’s collaboration across the five associations, along with government support from both Westminster and Holyrood.
‘We have to be respectful of others who may bid. It’s still quite a way off until FIFA start accepting applications.’