Why we are supporting Manchester being part of England's World cup bid.

3.00.00pm GMT Thu 21st Jan 2010

John Leech MP and footballer John Barnes are supporting England's World Cup bid

Manchester Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr Simon Ashley explains why Lib Dems support Manchester's bid to host World Cup matches locally should England's World Cup bid succeed.

"Front page Evening News headline. Council tax payers having to pay up to £30million towards a World Cup bid. Graham Stringer accusing the Labour Council he used to run of being absurd for spending money on a sporting event that should be funded elsewhere.

Graham took a different view when he signed the contract that meant that the Council Tax payer had to underwrite the costs of the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth Games cost between £80 and £85million of Council tax payers money, when we were told it wouldn't cost a penny. Some of us who argued for more government funding got castigated for being anti-Games and anti-Manchester.

Now, there is always a temptation when confronted by a headline like the Evening News for oppositions to jump on a bandwagon. £30million, in a recession, with a global game. someone else (FIFA, Local Businesses, anyone) should pay.

Unfortunately, the Evening News story only told half the story.

£30million is a maximum, and the event is 8 or 12 years away. In a Council budget of £1.2billion, £3million a year is difficult but affordable. I'd rather get a realistic figure explaining the maximum exposure now, rather than get a cost that jumps up 12 months before the event like it did with the Commonwealth Games.

The figures are robust, based on our experience hosting other bid events, benchmarked against Cape Town's costs for this summer's World Cup. Government have agreed to underwrite all security costs outside the grounds. And our costs will come down significantly because of at least 5 other potential income streams. They are,

1) The Council will be bidding for extra sources of funding, like the lottery.

2) There will be significant local sponsorship opportunities.

3) Income generation around the events.

4) Contributions and efficiencies from working with partners, especially City and United, the Transport Authority, Police and NHS .

5) Efficiencies from working with other Host Cities, like joint marketing and delivery.

And the benefits to Manchester are huge. Munich's economy benefitted by some £80million when they were a host city. And we are hosting more Games than they did, 12 in all.

Being part of England's World Cup bid offers no guarantees. We might not be successful, and then the effort and money we have put in so far will have been wasted. We could carp on the sidelines and not get involved, or wash our hands of responsibility, as Graham Stringer suggests.

But given the information we have now, the Liberal Democrats in Manchester think the rewards for Manchester far outweigh any risks, and that is why we are supporting England's World Cup bid."

Councillor Simon Ashley