Could Manchester host a World Cup final? The suggestion by senior ministers has provoked a prickly response from the city’s footballing rivals

Boris Johnson is being urged to promise a football World Cup final in the north of England as a symbol of his commitment to working-class Conservatives.

With the government under pressure to deliver for the former Labour voters who handed Mr Johnson an 80-seat majority, senior ministers have suggested a “London Olympics-style” emblem of Britain’s changed centre of political gravity.

However, a dispute has already broken out over the idea of holding a World Cup final in Manchester, with some pressing the claims of other northern cities such as Liverpool, home to the current European and world club champions.

The Conservative manifesto pledged to back a potential UK and Ireland bid for the 2030 Fifa World Cup and Mr Johnson has vowed to put