The joint 2030 World Cup bid by the UK and the Republic of Ireland looks ready to be rejected by UEFA, according to sources in UEFA, and the Irish government.
These sources have claimed that as soon as Spain and Portugal proposed their joint bid for the same tournament, there was only ever going to be one winner, according to dailymail.co.uk.
It is believed that in an effort to appease the football authorities of both nations, UEFA will try to offer the Euro 2028 tournament to the UK and Ireland.
The sources claim that if the countries agree to accept this alternative then Europe’s governing body will throw its full weight behind their bid for Euro 2028.
With a feasibility study underway by both the Irish and UK governments, along with stakeholder partners, word has allegedly reached Ireland’s Department of Sport, conveying the message that “the UK and Ireland bid was effectively over before it began”.
“It’s accepted that this isn’t going to happen, and the sooner that message is delivered, the better”, said the insider, adding, “I’m not sure it was ever that realistic once Spain and Portugal had declared their intent to host the tournament, and for many reasons, not least geography, and easy access between the two countries, this one makes more sense”.
Scenes beamed around the world of the appalling behaviour of drunken England fans at the Euro 2020 final have probably killed any chances of staging the tournament.
As the insider from UEFA explained, “The ‘Football’s Coming Home’ image was a terrifying one, and one which has not just sent shockwaves through UEFA, who were livid by what they witnessed, but global football nations”.
They added, “You cannot expect in your wildest dreams to have a country voting for an England-led bid after the world’s second-biggest international game descended into chaos. This is the view from people in UEFA and I can assure you that opinion will be even more entrenched at FIFA”. – Euro Weekly.
