Could the World Cup Come Back to the UK in 2042?
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, wants the men's World Cup to come to the UK in 2042. The idea got a boost after the UK prime minister told regional mayors at a meeting in Manchester on Friday that he was keen for the tournament to be played in the British Isles. The Guardian
Burnham, who is an Everton season ticket holder, attended the Friday meeting. He had said earlier this month that it was "insane" that only one World Cup had ever been held in the UK. That was back in 1966, when England hosted and won the tournament, beating West Germany 4-2 in the final after extra time. Hosting in 2042 would bring the World Cup back to the UK for the first time in almost 80 years.
A formal bid to host the 2042 World Cup could also involve Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. None of those countries have ever hosted World Cup games. England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, along with the Republic of Ireland, are already set to host the men's European championships in 2028. Think of it as a dress rehearsal: hosting a big tournament like that gives a country the stadiums, transport, and experience it would need to run an even bigger event like the World Cup.
The year 2042 is not a random choice. FIFA, the organization that runs the World Cup, has a rotation system. It means countries cannot host the tournament if it was recently held on the same continent. Here is how the schedule lines up: the 2030 World Cup will be in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, with a few early matches in South America to mark the tournament's 100th birthday. The 2034 World Cup will be in Saudi Arabia. The 2038 host has not been picked yet, but the rules point to North America or Oceania (which includes Australia and New Zealand). After all of that, it would be Europe's turn again in 2042.
A Downing Street source said the government supports the Football Association's goals for tournaments it is already hosting and any it would like to bid for. But they described these as "broad aspirations and a general ambition." In other words, the government is interested, but has not yet committed to actually putting together a formal bid.
The UK has a painful history with World Cup bids. England tried to host the 2018 World Cup, but the tournament was given to Russia amid allegations of corruption in the selection process. In 2014, Burnham, then serving in the shadow cabinet, said he was uncomfortable that the World Cup was still allowed to take place in Russia after it had annexed Crimea. That failed bid, and the questions it raised about how FIFA picks host countries, still hang over any future British attempt to bring the tournament home.
At Friday's meeting, Burnham is also understood to have raised the idea of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the north of England in the 2040s. Earlier this year, under the previous prime minister Keir Starmer, UK Sport was asked to look into whether an Olympics bid would be workable. The government is considering a "multi city bid" so that several northern cities could share the economic benefits.
The bigger picture here is about using big sporting events to invest in parts of the country that usually miss out. Burnham's push for both a northern Olympics and a UK-wide World Cup in the same decade is really about bringing money, new infrastructure, and global attention to areas outside London. Whether politicians will still care about this by 2042, and whether the UK can shake off the memory of its failed 2018 bid, are the questions that will decide what happens next.
