[0762]

Call it a 'trade off' eh Devongone!!

[St Charles Owl]

Looking at that initial bid of 1990 it just 'struck me' that there is a considerable gap of 24 years from 1966 but one has to take into consideration the violence that was endemic in England fans for quite a long time and the Heysel disaster of 1985, and the subsequent UEFA ban that followed, were surely also a big factor for the FA not bothering because they prob knew they had no chance of being given any kinda recognition until things 'settled down' considerably but they never did even up to the start of the millenium although Euro '96 was a good tournament but it was not devoid of the fan violence that the FA prayed for in a 'clean tournament' in that respect. It's just a thought to answer the 'why' in this OP.

Got to agree with that. Aside from the fact that FIFA would have been unlikely to give it to us during that time, I think the FA and Government wisely thought that there was no way they could control things and come out looking good!! Also worth remembering that prior to all the sports bodies and lottery money, these bids were paid for by the taxpayer to a certain degree and I'm not sure there was any appetite for that either.

Our chances were also cut down when they introduced the rotation policy for the host continent which ruled us our from bidding in 2 out of every 3 bid cycles. That has now been removed so its up to individual countries to bid when they want now.