The Championship club have proposed that its Walkers Stadium stage games during the football tournament after Aston Villa withdrew because it could not guarantee planned redevelopment work would be completed in time for 2012.

 

 

Leicester join Birmingham City, Coventry City and Nottingham Forest in hoping to be chosen.

 

Ross Willmott, the Leader of Leicester City Council, said they had made contact with London 2012 to find out what they were looking for.

 

He said: "We're aware that there's now an opportunity for another Midlands city to help host the football tournament in the 2012 Olympic Games, and it's one that we're very interested in exploring.

 

"We'll be meeting with our colleagues at Leicester City FC as soon as we have more details."

 

Steve Walsh, the former Leicester City captain who still has close connections with the club, is backing the bid.

 

He said: "Having Olympics football matches here would be a great thing.

 

"We're looking to get the World Cup in 2018, we've just had the Special Olympics here, so this would be something else that would be good for the city and the people.

 

"There's always a fantastic atmosphere at the Walkers Stadium and that would be the same for the Olympics."

 

Potential stadia have to meet International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules, including being all-seater with a 30,000 capacity.

 

The Walkers Stadium, which was opened in 2002, has a capacity of 32,500 and has hosted internationals in the past.

 

In June 2003 Sven-Goran Eriksson's England beat Serbia and Montenegro 2-1 in a friendly, and later that year Jamaica played Brazil in a friendly.

 

A ten-year deal with snack firm Walkers is due to expire a few weeks before London stages the 2012 Olympics.

 

Under IOC rules, stadia are not allowed to be named after sponsors.

 

Derby County, the only other club in the Midlands whose stadium meets the IOC criteria, are expected to announce in the next few days that they have put forward Pride Park, which, like the Walkers Stadium, is also on the short-list to host matches if England's bid to stage the 2018 is successful.