'Boris Johnson wants to generate post-Covid feel-good factor with 2030 World Cup'
2 March 2021, 15:29
Boris Johnson is backing a prospective joint bid from the UK and Ireland to host the 2030 World Cup as he aims to create a post-Covid "feel-good factor", LBC has been told.
A joint statement from the football associations concerned on Monday evening said: "The football associations and Government partners of the UK and Ireland are delighted that the UK Government has committed to support a prospective five-association bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
"We will continue to undertake feasibility work to assess the viability of a bid before FIFA formally open the process in 2022."
Speaking of the reasoning behind a potential World Cup bid Kieran Maguire, author of the Price of Football, told LBC: "I think it's trying to generate a feel-good factor to encourage people to look beyond Covid, with a view to showing that the UK can host huge events.
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"We saw this successfully in 2012 with the Olympics. It's all part of Boris Johnson's sort of positive mentality. He's by nature a hopeful person.
"And therefore what is a relatively small investment in Government terms could turn out to be something which is successful in terms of driving tourism and infrastructure benefits."
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Speaking of the potential financial cost of such a bid, he added: "I think we have to be very cautious. The benefit we have in the UK is that the stadiums are already there [and] the infrastructure is already there.
"So the additional costs to the public purse [and] to the football industry itself would be relatively small."
