Why did the north-east of England not get any Euro 2022 games?

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The biggest domestic league attendance in the English women’s game last season gathered for a fourth-tier fixture.

Given that Newcastle had just missed out on promotion there was little at stake against struggling Alnwick Town but 22,134 fans watched Becky Langley’s side canter to a 4-0 Mayday win at St James’ Park.

As the Gallowgate End became a sea of black and white flags, a giant “Howay The Lasses” banner was unfurled and the place pulsated, you wondered why a fabulously atmospheric 52,000-capacity arena situated, ideally, in Newcastle city centre had not been chosen as a Euro 2022 venue.

There are myriad reasons why many non-Newcastle supporters cite St James’ Park as their favourite Premier League ground but, on a practical level, its close proximity to restaurants, hotels, shops, parking, taxis, a mainline train station, an underground Metro system, an international airport and the A1 (M) help visitors maximise enjoyment while minimising stress. Such factors explain why it hosted 2012 Olympic football and, this October, will stage the Rugby League World Cup’s opening match.

The infrastructure surrounding Sunderland’s 49,000-seat Stadium of Light is not too shabby either. With an adjacent Metro station and excellent road links it is no coincidence it has become a leading summer concert venue.

Elton John has just played at an arena extremely familiar to England’s Lucy Bronze, Jill Scott, Beth Mead and Demi Stokes as well as Northern Ireland’s Rachel Furness. That quintet are all north-east-born products of a