Labour Party Proposes Public Holiday if England Wins 2018 FIFA World Cup

LONDON (Sputnik) - Leader of the UK Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn supported a proposal to announce a public holiday if England win the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Corbyn's official representative said on Wednesday.

"We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but I think it is the case that Jeremy believes that if England were to win the World Cup there should be a public bank holiday in celebration," the representative told journalists.

Shadow First Secretary of State Emily Thornberry was the first to propose declaring a public holiday if the English national team were to win the tournament.

FIFA World Cup 2018, Round of 16, Colombia - England, July 3, Spartak Arena in Moscow

© Sputnik / Gregory Sysoev

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"The World Cup is a very special international competition. It's something that brings people together on a very large scale and we need recognition of that and recognition of the importance of football in the country," the representative added.

England beat Colombia 4-3 on penalties in Moscow on Tuesday, after the teams drew 1-1 in extra time. England will now face Sweden in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

Earlier, UK officials and members of the royal family refused to attend this summer's FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14 and will continue until July 15, with the matches being played in 11 cities across Russia.