Prime Minister Andy Burnham wants to see the World Cup return to the United Kingdom for the first time since 1966, he has told colleagues. Burnham is already in talks about how to deliver a campaign to bring the tournament to British shores.
Burnham told colleagues at a meeting in Manchester that he was speaking to the nation's governing bodies over the prospect. The plans sit alongside ambitions to host a Northern Olympics, according to the I.
Northern sporting ambitions
The World Cup was last hosted in the UK in 1966 when England came away victorious. Burnham is pushing to make the north a standout destination for sport, and he also hopes to bring the 2035 Ryder Cup to Bolton.
The next opportunity to land the World Cup as a host nation comes in 2038. It is unclear whether the Prime Minister plans to achieve his World Cup dream at the soonest opportunity or whether 2042 or 2046 could be targeted instead. The formal process for awarding the 2038 tournament has not yet started.
Prime Minister's comments
Earlier this month, Burnham hinted that he would like to see the World Cup return to the United Kingdom. He believes the nation's significance in the sport's history warrants its hosting the tournament.
“It makes you wonder whether the authorities at the European and global level have something against us,” he told Ellis Platten, host of the Away Days podcast. “The country that invented the game, you'd think we would have had a bit more of that attention.”
