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UK Sport: Women's World Cup bid should be considered within next 15 years

By Holly BaconBBC Sport

Last updated on .From the section Sportcomments48

England players celebrate
England Women have reached back-to-back major finals

The United Kingdom should aim to host the Fifa Women's World Cup within the next 15 years, the body responsible for elite sport in the country says.

UK Sport has released a list of 70 "aspirational" target events in total.

The list also includes the men's Rugby World Cup, World Championships athletics, the Ryder Cup, the Solheim Cup and the Tour de France.

"We want to host a programme of live sport that resonates with the British public," UK Sport's Simon Morton said.

The organisation oversees funding for top-level sport across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

It added: "The events identified have the potential to deliver approximately £5bn of economic impact, across 20 locations, for over 15 million fans."

England has hosted the women's Euros twice - first in 2005 and then in 2022, which England won by beating Germany in extra time.

For the 2027 edition Fifa has received a bid from Brazil and two multi-national bids, the first from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, and the second from Mexico and the United States.

The bidding for 2031 is not set to open until the 2027 host has been announced.

England reached the final of the 2023 World Cup but were beaten 1-0 by Spain.

The women's Rugby World Cup in 2025 will be hosted by England and Birmingham has been selected as the host city for the European Athletics Championships in 2026

Uefa Euro 2028 will take place across the UK's constituent countries - England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales - as well as the Republic of Ireland.

The new list from UK Sport does not include the Commonwealth Games, which was last hosted by Birmingham in 2022.

Sports Minister Stuart Andrew said: "With the Uefa Champions League final at Wembley in June and the women's Rugby World Cup 2025 we are building on our world-leading reputation for hosting major sporting events.

"We are working closely with UK Sport and partners to fulfil our shared ambition to deliver up to 70 major events across 30 different sports to the UK in the years ahead."

Some of the events UK Sport hopes to target:

  • Fifa Women's World Cup
  • Men's Rugby World Cup
  • Athletics World Championships
  • Ryder Cup (golf)
  • Solheim Cup (golf)
  • Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes (cycling)
  • Women's Netball World Cup
  • Skateboarding World Championships
  • Olympic Qualifier Series (various sports)
  • UCI Cycling World Championships
  • Athletics Diamond League
  • World Triathlon Para Cup
  • Judo Grand Prix
  • World Taekwondo Grand Prix
  • World Triathlon Sprint & Relay Championships

Analysis

Dan Roan, BBC sports editor

Twelve years on from London 2012, UK Sport is clearly concerned about the increasing competition it is facing from traditional rivals, but also new ones such as Saudi Arabia, when it comes to the staging of major events.

The funding agency believes Britain now needs to respond, and says it wants to prioritise events that offer "reach and resonance".

A potential bid for the Women's football World Cup will grab the headlines, but also noticeable is an emphasis on urban sports and esports events.

It is also significant that the Commonwealth Games does not appear on the list of targeted events. Britain has hosted three of the past six Commonwealth Games but UK Sport has concerns about its cost and the value it offers in its current format.

Comments

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48 comments

  • Comment posted by Major Matt Mason, at 19:23 5 Mar

    Perhaps women's football will getting proper match attendances in 15 years time with people paying proper ticket prices to make this somehwat viable, or will every PL stadium be expected to host the matches and subsidise the tickets down to a £15 each out of their own budgets like Arsenal and Man City do for their WFC's now?

    • Reply posted by mark, at 06:51 6 Mar

      mark replied:
      "subsidise"?
      At £15 a ticket, most PL stadiums could make a healthy profit staging games.

  • Comment posted by modharry, at 17:00 5 Mar

    These events are getting expensive to hold. Let's make sure they do not need taxpayer funding & are going to turn a profit before giving the green light please.
    Look at the mess Birmingham is in now glorying in Commonwealth Games in 2022 now the Council is bust.

    • Reply posted by PygmyTwylyte, at 10:48 6 Mar

      PygmyTwylyte replied:
      Birmingham was financially up the proverbial creek without a paddle a long time before the Commonwealth games.
      The equal pay claims went back decades.

  • Comment posted by Stu_Han, at 17:47 5 Mar

    No thanks.

  • Comment posted by Paddy, at 22:34 5 Mar

    Need to fix all the potholes first.

  • Comment posted by weealfie, at 19:15 5 Mar

    Ffs

  • Comment posted by Juststanninhere, at 18:46 5 Mar

    The soon to be out of a job minister for sports said blah, blah blah.

  • Comment posted by the goat, at 17:08 5 Mar

    Why

  • Comment posted by Archibald90, at 18:09 5 Mar

    Oh dear

  • Comment posted by Clive Bacon, at 10:00 6 Mar

    If those multi-billion pound sponsorship deals & massive broadcasting rights contracts have materialised, as so many predict will be happening anytime soon in women's football in this country, then finance won't be an issue & in 15 years they will own their infrastructure within which to stage such an event.

    if the predictions have substance.

  • Comment posted by Johnny_Lee, at 19:45 5 Mar

    We're going to bid to host the Tour de France? Errr...?

    • Reply posted by Chuffy Mc, at 20:04 5 Mar

      Chuffy Mc replied:
      Not the whole tour. Its opening stage, or Grand Départ, has been held in Italy, England, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, among others.

  • Comment posted by Fanshawe Smythe, at 17:18 5 Mar

    If the events are sure to make money and improve infrastructure then absolutely host them football and rugby World Cups would do so and the Olympics was highly rewarding if expensive.

    But any which will not, unfortunately Commonwealth Games and much I was love it, the TDF stages and road cycling is hugely costly in police charges to close roads and probably not economical.

  • Comment posted by mark, at 06:49 6 Mar

    If the bids ( all of them) are financially viable then yes go for it, if not though then don't.
    The Women's football is getting stronger every year and we should definitely push on that front.

    With the state of the UK's finances though..............

  • Comment posted by D1710699950774, at 18:37 5 Mar

    Assume that it will be scattered across the UK as pulling on the strong home country popularity’s. But expect Micky Mouse run down grounds expecting to be rebuilt by a foreign country

  • Comment posted by House of Cake, at 13:09 6 Mar

    The Group Stage matches played at tiny NL grounds in front of a few thousand paying a tenner with the semis and the final played at a state-of-the-art PL stadium in the capital with cheap and free tickets to guarantee these matches get "sell-out" crowds.
    Nothing different to what happens in the "WSL" now so a Women's World Cup tournament commensurate with reality is eminently doable.

  • Comment posted by Owls, at 16:10 5 Mar

    Great idea; be nice to get the Men's World Cup as well - just my opinion perhaps, but well overdue.

    • Reply posted by Butterme--, at 17:20 5 Mar

      Butterme-- replied:
      Completely agree.

  • Comment posted by Long_Range_Sniper, at 20:38 5 Mar

    As long as there is no kissing!!!

  • Comment posted by StanislavPetrov, at 16:12 5 Mar

    15 Years! To make a bid? What's wrong with 4 tears?

    • Reply posted by D1709657003175, at 16:35 5 Mar

      D1709657003175 replied:
      Tears for fears.

  • Comment posted by richm, at 17:14 5 Mar

    why should we wait 15 years we have some of the best stadiums now and the crowds for the womans game are improving so it would be good for the womans game and for the country

  • Comment posted by Moses, at 19:16 5 Mar

    Here is a thought, what about a combined bid for both Men & Women Football World Cups, surely it is the best idea yet.

    • Reply posted by OliverDMcCall, at 21:00 5 Mar

      OliverDMcCall replied:
      Sounds great. Harry Kane and Beth Mead up front, nobody stands a chance.

  • Comment posted by Andrew Pepper, at 08:08 6 Mar

    What about the men's world cup? 1966 was nearly 60 years. Everyone else in Europe has already had it twice since us.

    • Reply posted by Major Matt Mason, at 08:39 6 Mar

      Major Matt Mason replied:
      ...And it's relevance here is....?