Boris Johnson says the UK will be able to host the entirety of Euro 2020 should UEFA change their plans to hold the competition across Europe.
Reports have suggested that UEFA may well look at staging the tournament as a whole in the UK in order to minimise the risk of the competition being disrupted due to coronavirus.
With the UK ahead of schedule with its vaccine rollout, and a recently-unveiled roadmap plotting the country’s return to normality in June, Johnson says the government would be willing to allow more matches to be held in the country if UEFA ask.
The Prime Minister also outlined plans to invest further in the UK and Ireland’s joint-bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
As reported by the Sun, he said: “We are very, very keen to bring football home in 2030. I do think it’s the right place.
“It’s the home of football, it’s the right time. It will be an absolutely wonderful thing for the country.”
He added: “We are hosting the Euros. We are hosting the semis and the final.
“If there’s, you know, if they want any other matches that they want hosted, we’re certainly on for that but at the moment that’s where we are with UEFA.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to announce an investment of £2.8m in Tuesday’s Budget to promote the UK and Ireland’s pitch to host the 2030 World Cup.
Other countries planning to bid are Morocco, potentially with help from Algeria and Tunisia, a joint-Conmebol bid from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile, a joint-bid from Romania, Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia, and a further UEFA joint-bid from Spain and Portugal.
Cameroon, Egypt, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru have all also expressed interest in bidding to host the tournament, but are yet to confirm the status of their bids.
