UK SPORT has outlined ambitions for Britain to host its first Fifa Women’s World Cup in the 2030s, it was reported today.

The global showpiece is the biggest sporting event Britain has never held, and one of several new additions to the funding body’s latest list of major event hosting targets alongside a World Athletics Championship in 2029 or 2031 and a men’s Rugby World Cup in 2035 or 2039.

The target list comprises 70 events – including 18 world championships – across 32 sports taking place between 2024 and 2040, and while inclusion on the list is just the first of a number of steps before a decision to bid is made, it marks another move forward.