‘Matter of when not whether’ UK hosts Women’s World Cup – sports minister
Sports Minister Stuart Andrew told the PA news agency he is keen for the UK to host the Women’s World Cup (Peter Byrne/PA)
Sports minister Stuart Andrew says “it is a matter of when not whether” the UK will submit a bid to host the Women’s World Cup.
The 2023 World Cup is currently being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand and FIFA is scheduled to announce the hosts for the 2027 finals in May next year.
Andrew told the PA news agency: “I would really be looking forward to the day when we can host a World Cup. It’s a matter of when not whether.”
Four bids remain in the race to host the 2027 World Cup – a joint bid from Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, a second joint bid from the USA and Mexico, plus separate bids from South Africa and Brazil.
When asked if the UK is considering applying to host the tournament finals in 2031, Andrew said: “We’ll have to wait and see.
“We’ve got a lot of bids in for a lot of events at the moment. The thing I think that makes us a really good country at hosting these is we know that when we’ve got them we’ll do it right.
“The perfect timing is just as important as actually securing the bid. So that will be part of our considerations.”
England hosted Euro 2022 which saw the Lionesses crowned champions (Danny Lawson/PA)
England hosted a successful Euro 2022 last summer when the Lionesses captured the hearts of a nation by winning their first major trophy.
“I think we’ve got a great reputation of holding major events,” said Andrew in Sydney, where he is currently following the Lionesses.
“I’m open to thinking about all these sorts of things. What I’ve seen here is amazing. We obviously think about these things in the spending rounds, we’ll have to give that consideration.
“But of course
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