World Cup bid hopes for 2030 still alive despite Uefa sanctions, MPs told

England will play one match behind closed door at Wembley
After England's Euro 2020 final troubles, the MPs were told that the UK and Republic of Ireland bids to host 2030 World Cup have not "gone up-in-air".

The UK government has provided 2.8 million to fund a feasibility study for the bid.

England was banned from playing in any stadium for one match on Monday after unrest at Wembley's July final.

Simon Morton, chief operating officer of UK Sport, told a DCMS committee that "it was not our best hour as a major hosting venue for international sporting events."

He said, "It was exactly the opposite of how we want major sporting events to feel." It was quite shocking.

It is not reflective of the way this country organizes big sporting events. Although it is serious, I don't believe it is our bid to make the world go berserk.

Downing Street maintained that the bid for 2030 was "very strong", despite the Wembley troubles.

When asked about the impact of the 2030 bid, the official spokesperson for the Prime Minister admitted that "important lessons must be learned", but said: "Our reputation as a host of world-class sporting events"

Morton stated that he was encouraged by the comments made last month by Aleksander Ceferin (Uefa president), who said that the trouble "wouldn't count against" an external-link bid from Britain and Ireland.

Morton stated that no decision has been made regarding the progress of a bid, and almost certainly wouldn't be until it was clear what the competition was.

He mentioned China, Spain, Portugal, and a bid from South America as possible candidates. However, he also said that "others were likely" to emerge.

Morton was reminded by the embarrassment that the English bid for 2018 World Cup caused when it received only two votes in the first round. One of these votes came from the Football Association.

Fifa, the world governing body, has changed its voting process so that it includes all nations and not just its executive committee. Morton said that reports from people involved in bidding for 2026 tournament, which will be held jointly by Mexico, Canada, and the United States, suggested a significant improvement in transparency.

He also supported the use of public money to finance a bid for a sport that earns billions of dollars in television income.

He said, "After the pain from that (previous vote), 11 years ago, now it is a reasonable opportunity to re-evaluate whether we should go again."

"But, one of the lessons learned from the previous bid was the fact that there was too much distance between the bidder and the government.

"I believe the government should contribute to feasibility work. The World Cup is an enormous event. Government should consider the costs, risks, and benefits. It is possible to close the gap between what we know and the FA by putting its hand in its pockets and commissioning really good work.