UK Sport deputy says ‘right decision’ to ditch World Cup bid and host Euro 2028
Wales delegate Gareth Bale holds a UEFA Euro 2028 pennant (Mike Egerton/PA)
UK Sport’s deputy chief insists abandoning a potential joint UK and Ireland bid for the 2030 World Cup in favour of focusing on Euro 2028 was the “right decision”.
The 2030 tournament has now been awarded to Morocco, Portugal and Spain, with three South American nations staging the opening matches to mark the tournament’s centenary, while England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland will co-host the European Championships in four years’ time.
A Women’s World Cup was added to UK Sport’s latest list of 70 hosting targets for events up to 2040, unveiled on Tuesday, and while the funding body executive acknowledged that there “is no stated aspiration” to secure the men’s equivalent within a specific time frame, he did not rule out the possibility of the competition landing on a future list.
UK Sport deputy CEO Simon Morton said: “I think when we think back to the bidding landscape over the last year or two in FIFA, one of the considerations that the FAs had to reflect on was whether the World Cup was winnable, and we had to think about every single event that we move forward with.
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“I think it was the right decision, because we were quickly able to move those plans that had been built around the World Cup to secure, although it’s the Euros, a genuinely global tournament, and I think securing that for the UK and the unique partnership that sits alongside it, the four UK home countries and the Republic of Ireland, I think that
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