BORIS Johnson has been lobbying to bring a World Cup home ahead of England’s semi-final clash with the Danes today.
The Prime Minister has wished Gareth Southgate’s team the “best of luck” in getting to the Euro 2020 final as he stepped up his efforts to get a home soil World Cup.
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Mr Johnson lobbied for a joint British and Irish based competition during a meeting at No 10 with the president of Uefa, Aleksander Ceferin on Tuesday.
But wishing the Three Lions luck tonight, the PM said: “Gareth Southgate and the England squad have done the nation proud in the Euros, and tonight we will all be wishing them the best of luck in getting to the final. Bring it home!”
Previously Cerefin, whose support is vital to the winning country, has stated that he would want a single European candidate for the 2030 World Cup so that the vote is not split.
In January Boris pledged that he would pump £2.8m towards a joint bid, adding that it was the “right time” to “bring football home”.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun in March, the Prime Minister said: “We are very, very keen to bring football home in 2030. I do think it’s the right place.
“It’s the home of football, it’s the right time. It will be an absolutely wonderful thing for the country.”
Mr Johnson hopes the image of plucky Brexit Britain, fresh from its vaccine success, hosting the European tournament this summer would be a great advert for the UK’s 2030 bid.
And he hopes it will encourage us all to play more sport so the country can “build back fitter” from Covid.
Britain and Ireland’s main competition is Spain and Portugal, who launched their own official bid last week.
After two failed attempts to host the tournament, the joint bid is thought to be more likely to get the contest on home soil.
The Chinese had also reportedly been planning a strong counterbid, but reports suggest that they are likely to back down.
The decision to allow up to 2,500 Uefa VIPs quarantine exemptions to attend the semi-finals and final at Wembley has been regarded as helpful in securing support.
The bid comes ahead of England’s biggest game on home soil in 25 years, with the Duke of Cambridge attending tonight’s match.
Southgate’s squad will have to battle with the pressure of performing on the big stage at Wembley – the biggest since losing the semi-final of Euro ’96 to Germany on penalties.
A source also said that the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall would be “closely following the outcome”.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
