Julian Knight has slammed Britain’s attempts to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup as ‘utter nonsense’ amid fears Spain and Portugal are UEFA’s primary candidates.
Knight, who is the Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS), was talking to Nigel Huddleston, Sports Minister, about Britain’s chances of hosting the event within nine years.
Huddleston claims that the chaos caused by the Euro 2020 Final at Wembley, July was not to blame for the potential bid.
Huddleston attributed the ‘unruly’ and ‘despicable’ people to the ‘undermining of’ future efforts to bring tournaments to the UK. However, he did admit that the conversations and interactions he had thus far have made it clear that this was an exceptional event and that events can be held very effectively.
Yet Knight bluntly told him ‘we’re never going to win it’ and the £11m the government are spending on the bid is a waste of money.
Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, stated after the Euro 2020 finals that he still hopes the UK or Ireland will host the World Cup by 2030.
Julian Knight (left), has called Britain’s bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup ‘utter nonsense’ when he spoke to Nigel Huddleston (right).
Huddleston acknowledged that crowd chaos during the Euro 2020 final had ‘undermined’ efforts.
Spain and Portugal are believed to be European frontrunners in hosting the 2030 World Cup. Picture: France 2018, winners
Huddleston claimed that Knight’s pessimism was unshareable, partly because the bidding process had been ‘fundamentally altered’.
“As we know, last year (for the 2018 bid), we received promises from behind closed doors. These votes never came to pass,” he stated.
“The process has evolved. “If it had, I would have shared your skepticism.
In July, disturbances occurred at Wembley as well as in London. Individuals without tickets were able to get into the stadium to watch the match between England & Italy.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed last month that the Government, having originally pledged £2.8m for a feasibility study towards a World Cup 2030 bid, is ploughing an extra £8m into the checks over whether a joint bid would be a success.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in the aftermath of the Euro 2020 final that he still hoped the UK & Ireland could host the World Cup in 2030 (pictured left: FIFA president Gianni Infantino)
The appalling scenes at the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley left figures in football disgusted
The venue was packed with thousands of people, and then drunken supporters broke into it to steal seats
It is not expected that the feasibility study will be complete until April 2022, at which point the FAs of the host country FAs will have an idea of whether it is feasible to launch a bid to host the World Cup.
However, despite internal doubts and major delays, the Government appears determined to continue with efforts to host the World Cup for only the second time since 1966.
In addition to the £11m investment into the Government are also pledging up to £500m towards grass roots football for a successful World Cup bid – another clear indication of their intention to build a credible bid.
But Sportmail Last month, it was revealed that the only realistic way to win at FIFA is with a Spain/Portugal bid.
FIFA’s bidding will begin in spring 2019 and the hosts of the 2024 FIFA Congress will be selected.