Andy Burnham says he wants men’s World Cup hosted in UK in 2042
Andy Burnham said he wants to bring the men’s World Cup to the UK in 2042 at a meeting in No 10 North in Manchester on Friday, a proposal that would return the tournament to these shores for the first time in almost eight decades.
Burnham, the prime minister, made the comment as he spoke with regional mayors about hosting the competition; he has previously described it as “insane” that only one World Cup has been held anywhere in the UK. When the 1966 World Cup took place in England, with the home side beating West Germany 4-2 in the final after extra time, it was the only time the country has either hosted or won the contest. It is understood a formal application to stage the competition could also involve other home nations, none of whom have ever hosted any World Cup games.
A Downing Street source said: “We support the FA’s priorities in terms of the tournaments they are already hosting, and any others they’d like to bid for. “It would always be great to host more tournaments. These are broad aspirations – it’s a general ambition. The prime minister is a sports fan and loves his football.”
The UK and Republic of Ireland will host the men’s European championships in 2028, illustrating the recent rise in joint bids between nations for major football tournaments. England previously mounted a bid to host the 2018 World Cup that was unsuccessful; that tournament was awarded to Russia amid allegations of corruption.
While serving in the shadow cabinet in 2014, Burnham said he was uncomfortable that the tournament was still allowed to take place in Russia after its annexation of Crimea. Under Fifa regulations cited in discussions of future bids, no European country would be eligible to stage the World Cup until 2042.
Fifa introduced rules in 2000 that required rotation around its six continental confederations, a system that led to South Africa hosting the World Cup in 2010; the strict rotation was scrapped in October 2007. Nations are not allowed to bid to stage a World Cup if either of the previous two tournaments have taken place on the same continent.
The 2030 World Cup will be hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with some early matches taking place in South America to mark the tournament’s centenary, and Fifa has confirmed the 2034 tournament will take place in Saudi Arabia. The first World Cup was played in Uruguay in 1930. The location of the 2038 World Cup has not yet been announced, but under the rules, games are likely to be played in North America or Oceania, which includes Australia and New Zealand.
At Friday’s meeting Burnham also discussed the possibility of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic games in the north of England in the 2040s; earlier this year UK Sport was commissioned under the previous prime minister, Keir Starmer, to assess whether a bid would be viable. It is understood the government is considering the possibility of a “multi city bid” to spread any economic benefit between several northern cities, and a formal application to host the 2042 World Cup could involve the other home nations.