The 2030 World Cup was earmarked as the "crowning achievement" in the "most ambitious blueprint of post-Brexit sporting bids" planned by the U.K. government, according to Tom Morgan of the London TELEGRAPH. As well as the World Cup, U.K.. sporting execs hope to stage the starts of all three of cycling’s grand tours in the country by '25, stage a Ryder Cup in England again and bid again for the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups. With major events such as the Cricket World Cup, golf’s Solheim Cup and cycling’s Road World Championships already lined up for '19, UK Sport’s 15-year wish list "includes a total of 85 events across almost every Olympic and Paralympic sport." Talks are already "well advanced" to host the starts of the Vuelta a España and Tour de France in Yorkshire in '22 and '24, respectively, with Wales keen to stage the Giro d’Italia’s start in '21. The idea of a 2030 World Cup bid "has already been backed" by PM Theresa May. UK Sport COO Simon Morton said of the "challenges facing the country" during Brexit, "It feels to me like our country is going to be a little in the process of nation-building. How we see ourselves as a country, and as the strength of the union -- particularly around the football World Cup -- and how the world sees us. These events can do a great deal for us over the next decade" (TELEGRAPH, 10/3).
EYES ON THE PRIZE: In London, Sean Ingle reported there will be "some eyebrows raised" that England is willing to be part of a bid for the World Cup again, "especially given the disastrous campaign" for '18, which cost £19M and failed as the bid was knocked out in the first round of voting with a meager two votes from FIFA's exec committee. However, Morton said that FIFA's new World Cup voting rules "made it much more likely a British bid would succeed." He said, "The biggest target on our list is the World Cup. If we bid for that, landing that event would be the crowning achievement, almost irrespective of everything else we’ve got." Morton also promised the FA would take a "very different approach this time" after being widely criticized for courting controversial FIFA figures such as former CONCACAF President Jack Warner, who was later banned. Morton added, "The FA has expressed to us that they have a set of principles and they are approaching this in a different way than before" (GUARDIAN, 10/3).
