Ireland’s bid to host part of the 2030 FIFA Men’s World Cup gained Government backing yesterday, moving the process along, even at this very early stage.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin spoke to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to confirm that it would assist where required with the completion of a feasibility study. A sum of £2.5 million is to be confirmed in today’s Westminster budget tp fund part of that study.

The FIFA process for making a formal bid will not begin until 2022.

This is a putative bid that dates back to the John Delaney era at the FAI and yesterday we covered the history of it dating back to initial conversations, including with Irish Government Ministers at the time in 2018.

It is the biggest prize in the world of sport and the perfect tonic for a public jaded by Covid and lockdown.

Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium would be the only stadia on the island of Ireland with the 50,000 capacity likely to be needed but the lack of a requirement to build new infrastructure would be positive in what could be a period of potential restraint in public spending on what might be seen as non-essential projects.

“This is an exciting possibility, but we are still in the very early stages of assessing how and if this major global tournament could be part hosted by our nation,” said Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media yesterday.

“Feasibility studies will continue with our partners to assess the viability of a bid, and we look forward to further extensive engagement and collaboration as we seek to refine our hosting proposals in the coming months and years. Staging a FIFA World Cup would provide an incredible opportunity to deliver tangible benefits to the UK and Ireland.”

“Precise details of the involvement of each partner, including which cities and stadia will be involved, are yet to be determined. This provides a unique opportunity and as we sow the seeds of recovery for Ireland’s tourism sector we cannot underestimate the benefits such an event would bring to the country.”

Viability

The Department will continue with sporting partners to assess the viability of a prospective bid. In the first instance, this will involve contributing to a capability assessment of stadia as well as a number of other criteria to help determine whether the return ultimately justifies Ireland’s participation in the bid.

Direct economic benefits such as spending by visiting fans, broadcasters and media and sponsors will be taken into account but other long-term benefits such as increased international profile, participation in sports, strengthened links with our nearest neighbours, and increased future tourism will also be assessed.

Much of the work undertaken around the winning of the Euro 2020 Finals will have set a template for how this can be determined, while the experience of bidding for the Rugby World Cup will also add to the knowledge that we have around the staging of major events.

The FIFA World Cup would be on a different scale with as many as 48 teams and 80 matches to be accommodated. Even if England took half of those games, that would leave 40 matches to be potentially spread around perhaps four stadia in Scotland that would be of sufficient size, and one in Wales. On a pro-rata basis that could see Ireland stage six games.

An online poll carried out by The 42 yesterday showed 66 per cent approval for hosting with a surprisingly high 31 per cent saying no to the prospect. That could be down to a jadedness from Covid lockdown and deeper research will be needed over time to determine public appetite.

“If a decision is made to bid for the event, we look forward to presenting our hosting proposals to FIFA and the wider global football community,” added Minister of State for Sport Jack Chambers.

“The FIFA Men’s World Cup is one of the largest and most impactful events in the World. Any bid process to host the tournament is always highly competitive and we look forward to developing our hosting proposal and working with FIFA to showcase our incredible assets and hosting credentials. Bidders will only be known once the bid process is formally opened by FIFA in 2022.”

 

Sport for Business Partners

Sport for Business Partners