Could sympathy win us World Cup bid?

THE FAI could do without Taoiseach Micheál Martin (right) grousing about the loss of the four games assigned to Dublin for the Euro 2020 finals. The FAI knew the game was up long before last Friday’s announcement after UEFA stood firm on a minimum number of fans attending all games. Already, the FAI’s focus has shifted to a far greater prize, the 2030 World Cup finals as co-hosts with England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A British-Irish bid is the preferred option of UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. While England have come a cropper on solo World Cup runs in the past, they need political allies on both sides of the Irish Sea. The influence of the IFA’s David Martin, the newly elected FIFA vice-president, will be significant when the bid is launched in 12 months. Martin is close to FAI president Gerry McAnaney, who used the downtime at last week’s UEFA Congress to firm up alliances. There is a groundswell of sympathy across European nations towards the FAI at missing out on the Euro finals through no fault of their own. Tapping into kind hearts could hold the key for the UEFA’s nomination as 2030 World Cup flagbearers. If successful, the main opponent will likely be the South America quartet of Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile. Notably, the first World Cup in 1930 was played in Uruguay. With 48 finalists, England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland would be in line for automatic qualification, with games to be played in the Aviva and Croke Park. The North has no suitable stadium but would stage the qualifying draw and also host competing teams. The winners of the golden ticket will be known at the 74th FIFA Congress in June, 2024. It’s all to play for.