As the home of the oldest club in the world, the city of Sheffield gave football to the world.

And after submitting an official bid to host 2018 World Cup games, officials from both United and Wednesday are hoping to bring it back.

The two Steel City arch-rivals have come together to launch ‘Sheffield 2018’, a joint bid hoping to bring World Cup football to South Yorkshire if England is selected as a host nation.

Sheffield’s transport links, accommodation and fan facilities will all come under scrutiny should England’s bid prove successful and the FA whittle down a 15-city shortlist to just eleven. Officials from the FA are expected to visit Sheffield on July 21, to inspect the city’s suitability to host such an event.

Sheffield FC – The world’s first ever football team,

The benefits of the biggest tournament on the planet visiting South Yorkshire go far beyond the football pitch, however. Obviously the city’s already impressive sports facilities will inevitably be upgraded, but the economic boost to the city’s shops, restaurants and hotels would be vital. And of course, bringing football back to where it all began with the conception of Sheffield FC in 1857 would prove a fascinating insight into how the game has evolved since.

“Sheffield is home to a number of high-profile sporting events, including the World Snooker Championships at the world-famous Crucible theatre,” Paul Billington, chairman of the Sheffield 2018 executive group, said.

“This year Sheffield will also host the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. These types of events bring millions of pounds into the city and provide the opportunity for thousands of sports fans to watch and volunteer at events.

“Being a host city would be a huge benefit to the city and we would certainly like to see World Cup games played here.”

Of course, due to World Cup regulations, only one city can have more than one host stadia and with London almost certainly to be chosen, it seems that a choice will have to be made between United’s Bramall Lane home and Hillsborough, home of Sheffield Wednesday.

Artist’s impression of United’s new Kop stand

In terms of location, Bramall Lane’s city centre location probably gives it the edge over Hillsborough, which is situated further into Sheffield’s suburbs. As such, United’s stadium will be closer to city centre hotels, restaurants and railway stations, and boasts a four-star Copthorne Hotel on site.

One possible positive for Wednesday’s bid is its close proximity to Hillsborough park, a 20-hectare piece of land adjacent to the football ground. This would provide an excellent location for a ‘Fifa Fan Park’, designed to maximise the World Cup experience for fans of all travelling nations. Germany’s accommodation of these Fan Parks was hailed a massive success in 2006, with Fifa apparently keen to ensure that such events would be repeated at future tournaments.

Another possible venue under consideration for this purpose is Don Valley Stadium, a purpose-built sports facility built in the city. The stadium, currently home to Rotherham United FC, hosts a U2 concert later this year and is well situated, with amenities such as Sheffield Arena, iceSheffield, the English Institute of Sport, Meadowhall and Valley Centertainment very close by.

Don Valley Stadium – possible Fan Park venue?

Before either ground can be considered as a host venue, however, both must upgrade their respective capacity. Fifa state that World Cup venues should seat a minimum of 40,000, and Bramall Lane currently holds around 33,000 spectators. United have, however, submitted proposals to redevelop their Kop stand, taking capacity to 37,000, and plan to further develop the South Stand by a further 6,000 seats – leaving them with a stadium not only capable of seating 44,000 but also boasting exhibition and conference centres, banqueting facilities, and even private housing.

Hillsborough, by comparison, is within touching distance of the required capacity – currently holding 39,814 – meaning that minimal development work would be required to meet the criteria. Whilst the number of seats may not be an issue, the general condition of the ground may be – Hillsborough is starting to show the signs of a lack of investment in it, and Wednesday recently launched a volunteer-led initiative asking Owls fans to paint the stadium.

Rural: Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium.

With a vast influx of supporters from a number of different countries expected to travel to the World Cup, Sheffield’s transport links will come under intense scrutiny if England’s bid is successful. The city’s M1 and M18 motorways link the city with major cities such as London and Leeds, as well as Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Major international airports at Manchester, Leeds Bradford and East Midlands are all within an hour’s drive of Sheffield.

The city also has six rail stations, with two major ones in close proximity to either football ground – Meadowhall train station is less than five miles away from Hillsborough, and Sheffield Station is just a mile away from Bramall Lane.

Sheffield’s ‘Supertram’ network also connects the city centre, Hillsborough and Meadowhall, and a large bus network operates within the city. A free bus operates in the city centre, every seven minutes each day.

As well as having means to travel around the city, visitors from cities such as Brazil and Italy must have somewhere to stay if the World Cup comes to South Yorkshire – and Sheffield doesn’t disappoint on this front either, boasting an impressive 4,000 hotel rooms in the city.

The city centre’s Leopold Hotel is Sheffield’s first boutique hotel, and a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, and the Hilton located near Bramall Lane features a gym, sauna and pool.

For the more economical visitor, budget hotels such as Travelodge and Premier Inn offer rooms from £45 per night – although prices are likely to increase during the World Cup roadshow.

Sheffield’s Supertram links Hillsborough and Meadowhall with the City Centre.

The massive amount of visitors to the city should be reassured by Sheffield’s status as one of the safest cities in the United Kingdom, in terms of crime. In 2004 statistics showed the city was the safest city in England bar none, and figures since have shown that violent crime and robberies are dramatically in decline. In 2008, violent crime fell by 12%, and robbery fell by a third.

“One of the angles we are pushing is that it’s a safe, welcoming city that’s got sport and very much football at its heart. It’s in the DNA of the city,” Wayne Coyle, the director of Sheffield’s bid, told The Times.

In terms of footballing history, not least thanks to Sheffield FC, Sheffield more than holds its own against its competitors. Bramall Lane is the oldest major stadium in the world still hosting professional football after opening its doors in 1855, and is one of only two grounds to have hosted England internationals in both football and cricket.

Kevin McCabe, Sheffield United chairman, said: “It would seem strange not to include Sheffield and Bramall Lane, which is the home of football after all, in the [2018] bid.

“The rules of football were drawn up a stones-throw away from Bramall Lane and the original handwritten copy is in our museum at United.

“Sheffield FC, the world’s oldest football club, played some of their earliest games here. Even Pelé, the world’s greatest ever footballer, visited us at United last year.

“Anyone who visits Bramall Lane can see that it is a high class stadium that’s getting even better.”

Croatia fans at Hillsborough during Euro ’96.

Hillsborough, however, holds the advantage of having hosted World Cup games when the tournament last visited this country in 1966, staging three games including West Germany’s 5-0 victory over Switzerland.

Defending European champions Denmark also played all their group games in Euro 1996 at Hillsborough and it is clear that if the England 2018 team make their decisions based on footballing history, Sheffield should be a shoo-in.

However, with a raft of other factors taken into account before a final choice is made, and competition from rival Yorkshire cities Leeds and Hull, the heavy rivalry between the two Sheffield teams long may continue not only on the field, but in the running to host what is truly the greatest show on earth.