Great Britain will enter the race to host the FIFA World Cup in 2038 or 2042 under Prime Minister Andy Burnham as part of a government initiative to drive investment, tourism and regional regeneration beyond London.
Burnham told colleagues at No 10 North on Friday morning that he is examining how the nation could stage global football's biggest tournament, with the i Paper reporting that he is backing a formal bid.
Tournament schedule and sporting ambitions
The United Kingdom has not hosted the World Cup since 1966, when England won the trophy under manager Sir Alf Ramsay at Wembley Stadium in London. England reached the semi-finals of this summer's World Cup, which took place across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
With Spain, Morocco and Portugal set to co-host the 2030 tournament and Saudi Arabia awarded hosting rights for 2034, 2038 and 2042 represent the next available hosting dates for international football's governing body FIFA.
The United Kingdom and Ireland are already scheduled to host the UEFA European Championship in 2028. Burnham is understood to be keen on adding further major sporting events to the national slate, including bringing the Ryder Cup golf tournament to Bolton and hosting an Olympic Games with venues located across the North of England.
Previous bid failure and FIFA criticisms
The Prime Minister was previously involved in a British World Cup bid when serving as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport under former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. That campaign ended in humiliation when Russia won hosting rights for the 2018 World Cup in a heavily scrutinised vote by FIFA's executive committee.
England's 2018 bid, which featured former national team captain David Beckham as a key ambassador, received just two votes from the 22-member committee. Having failed to secure hosting rights in subsequent years, Burnham questioned whether football's governing authorities held a bias against the country.
Speaking during an appearance on the Away Days podcast, Burnham said: "It makes you wonder whether the authorities at the European and global level have something against us. The country that invented the game, you'd think we would have had a bit more of that attention."
Clash over commercial plans and personal ties
More recently, Burnham directly criticized FIFA president Gianni Infantino after plans emerged following this summer's World Cup final to sell a commercial share of FIFA tournaments to private investors.
The Prime Minister was among the loudest voices opposing Infantino's proposal to broker a £3.1 billion sale of a share in FIFA tournaments to an investment group led by Joshua Kushner's Thrive Capital.
Speaking to reporters in Sheffield on July 31, Burnham condemned the proposal. "This was an outrageous suggestion," Burnham said. "The idea that it could even be brought forward shows that, in my view, (he) is the wrong man to lead the organisation."
A lifelong Everton fan, Burnham's long-standing friendship with former Everton player and manager Peter Reid saw the club legend welcome the new Prime Minister to Downing Street shortly after his appointment.
Speaking to The Times on the steps of No 10 Downing Street, Reid described Burnham as a "big pal" for "decades" and said it was "about time" the country had another Northern prime minister. Reid added that there was "no chance" Burnham would return to his regular seat at the Hill Dickinson stand following his move to No 10.
"I think he's in the South Stand," Reid said. "That will last one game. He told me that, and I said "behave"."
