UK Sports Minister Tony Banks says England has been asked by European football bosses to host the World Cup in 2002 if the economic situation in Japan and South Korea worsens.

He is reported to have been approached by Lennart Johansson, president of football's European governing body UEFA. Japan and South Korea insist they will co-host the event as planned.

But Mr Johansson fears the cost - including the construction of new stadiums - could prove too great.

Tony Banks: ready and willing

Mr Banks is quoted in The Express as saying: "This is an eventuality which Mr Johansson has raised.

"We are the only nation equipped to organise and put on a World Cup Finals at very short notice. In effect, we are ready and willing to step in and the football authorities know that.

"We stepped in late in the day to organise the 1948 Olympics and we are always ready to help the world of sport."

Derek Bleakly: "It's complete rubbish" (3'36")

But Derek Bleakly, international relations officer for the 2002 World Cup, says no mention was made of any problems at the recent UEFA meeting in Dublin.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We had not heard anything along these lines until these reports today. We consider them all to be complete nonsense.

"Both Korea and Japan put in separate bids to hold the 2002 World Cup and both are capable of organising the World Cup independently."

England are already staging a bid to host the 2006 finals with the major competition coming from South Africa and Germany.

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