UEFA chief hopes Europe backs British bid for 2030 World Cup

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. Picture: PA

The Slovenian said earlier in the week that it will be “Europe’s turn” to host the tournament, following 2022 in Qatar and a 2026 event tipped to take place in North America.

Ceferin, right, has now gone further by backing a return to Britain for the first time since England hosted and won the 1966 World Cup.

He told the BBC: “For me, they are absolutely capable of organising it from an organisational point of view, from an infrastructure point of view.

“But of course it’s a decision not just for the FA, probably the government and all the others too.

“But you know everything about English or British football, so they deserve to have a World Cup in the near future.

“I don’t know how much encouragement they need. That’s the decision of the Football Association and if they decide to go, we will strongly support them.

“They will have all our political support. I just hope we will not have two European bidders, because that would not be good. I think the ideal situation would be to have one European bidder, and then all of Europe stands together and we can achieve it.”

Britain got a taste of hosting a major event last night with the Champions League final taking place in Cardiff. Coming in the aftermath of the recent terrorist attack at a pop concert in Manchester, and less than two months after a bomb attack on Borussia Dortmund’s team coach, security is at the top of the agenda for all major sporting events.

“We have to admit that organising an event today is completely different than organising it ten years ago from the security perspective,” Ceferin added. “I don’t know if football is a target but all the big events with big crowds are possibly targets. The problem is that the stadiums are secure, they are safe, but there are many people on the street so we have to be cautious.”