Moscow: England deserve to host the World Cup finals in 2030 and should mount a joint bid with Ireland, banned former Fifa president Sepp Blatter said on Wednesday.
“I think that England, or the islands, they deserve to organise the World Cup,” Blatter, in Russia to attend the World Cup as a guest of President Vladimir Putin, told Sky Sports.
“They had it in 1966 so it’s a long time ago. [I was told that] it could be with Wales and Scotland together but I said why not Ireland altogether? With 48 teams you need more than one country to host it.”
England bid for this year’s tournament but lost out to Russia despite being one of the favourites.
Blatter, who led soccer’s world governing body for 17 years, is serving a six-year ban for unethical conduct after Fifa was rocked by a global corruption scandal in 2015.
