UEFA 'will strongly support' British World Cup bid

A potential bid from England or collective proposal from Britain to host the 2030 World Cup has received early backing from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.

The credentials of the upcoming countries hosting the showpiece - Russia in 2018 and Qatar four years later - have been questioned after allegations of corruption in the bidding process, and human rights violations during the building of stadiums. But a morally sound European bid could be shunted out of the running for future World Cups anyway, with recent interest from Chinese companies sponsoring FIFA leading to reports that the world's most populous country will host the 2030 edition.

That would upset the rotation policy over which continent should stage the tournament, with Europe due a turn 12 years after Russia's World Cup.

Ceferin said, as reported by BBC Sport's Richard Conway, that rules "cannot change just because we have some big sponsors."

He added: "I cannot say which country will place a bid from Europe, but we cannot just sell the World Cup to the ones who want to pay the most."

Ceferin is adamant that the World Cup should simply "go to the country that has the best bid." With international football's elite competition last gracing U.K. soil in 1966, it's perhaps time for it to be played in venues such as Wembley, Hampden Park, and the Principality Stadium.

"It just has to be a decision not just of the FA, probably also the government and others too. But they deserve to have a World Cup in the near future," the chief of European football's governing body explained.

"They are capable of organising the World Cup, of that I'm sure. If they decide to go, we will strongly support them."

There could be an early dress rehearsal for Britain on Saturday, when Wales' national stadium in Cardiff hosts the Champions League final between Juventus and Real Madrid.