Steven Broomhead is chief executive of Warrington Borough Council and writes a regular column for the Warrington Guardian

As one World Cup ends another begins. The Rugby League World Cup was the most inclusive ever, while the FIFA World Cup seems the most divisive ever.

For our town, despite the pricing policy for the men’s games not being affordable for many, the tournament was a resounding success.

Let’s hope that the Rugby Football League’s policy of 'reach over revenue' pays dividends with new audiences, in particular younger people, attracted to watch and play our great sport. The physical disability tournament showed that, as a town, we are the national centre for the promotion of disability inclusion. Victoria Park became our own version of Wembley for two weeks and iconic figures such as Adam 'Last Leg' Hills put us on a global platform. Similarly, the women’s matches gave us great pride and the wheelchair tournament generated new audiences and accolades for its skill, aggression and passion.

We have actually hosted three nations here – the men’s teams for Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Samoa – who have stayed with us and used the Wolves’ training facilities. T

he spectacle of seeing world class players mingling with the public and in our market at Time Square added to our increasingly diverse culture. International football stars are protected whereas out Rugby League stars will chat and listen with you.

The tournament had a real positive vibe about it and added great value to our town and indeed our country. Unfortunately, the football World Cup doesn’t seem to share the same positivity and it’s rather like watching ‘Panorama’, rather than a celebration of football which ought to help unite the planet.

The issues of human rights, LGBTQ rights, labour conditions, and the £200billion conspicuous consumption/spending, have understandably created controversy. I do hope we can enjoy the football for the next month, without excusing the wider issues in Qatar and accepting their “sportwashing”. I’m fully behind England and hope their skills and talent are greater than the bank balances of Qatar and the influence they intend to gain from hosting the tournament.

Pob lwc Cymru. Good luck England.