Yorkshire's sports minister Nigel Adams wants to bring football World Cup to UK

A joint UK and Ireland bid for the 2030 World Cup that in 2018 was won by France in Russia.

A joint bid from the UK and the Republic of Ireland had already received the backing of former Prime Minister Theresa May during her premiership, and continuing that momentum is high on the agenda of the man who succeeded her at No 10 Downing Street, Boris Johnson.

To that end he has tasked his new Sports Minister, Mr Adams - the Conservative MP for Selby and Ainsty - with making it happen.

Mr Adams has already continued discussions with the five Football Associations of the United Kingdom and Ireland, and with feasibility studies ongoing, is confident of putting a strong bid together.

Sports Minister Nigel Adams, right, at the UCI Road World Championships in Harrogate this week.

Speaking at the UCI Road World Championships which are taking place in Yorkshire this week, Mr Adams said: "We want more world class events coming to this country.

"I want to see the UK hosting a World Cup, that's one of my ambitions.

"We are talking constantly with the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

"There's no better place to host a World Cup and the discussions are happening now.

"There's a FIFA meeting later this month to discuss the bidding process."

Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay have already confirmed they will bid for the 2030 World Cup to mark the 100-year anniversary of the first tournament in Uruguay.

A joint bid from the UK and Ireland will also face competition from closer to home, with Romania, Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia combining forces to bid for the tournament from the UEFA zone.

Morocco - beaten to the 2026 tournament by USA, Canada and Mexico - as well as a combined Spain and Portugal offer could also be in the mix.

Any bid would be costly, hence the feasibility studies, as The Football Association found when bidding for the 2018 World Cup a decade ago, a venture that had the support of HRH Prince William and David Beckham and cost £21m, but failed in humiliating fashion.

"We learnt a lot of lessons from 2009," said Mr Adams.

"But this is a new broom, and it's also a UK bid, and FIFA is also now a lot more transparent."

UK Sport has in the past said that hosting the 2030 World Cup would be the “crowning achievement” for major events planned for the home nations over the next decade and a half.