Bradford is to have its own world snooker championship next summer.

World Seniors Snooker Ltd – the baby of Bradford’s former world champion Joe Johnson and his business partner Dave Shipley – are organising an eight-man event on June 5 and 6 at The Clubhouse In Cue Gardens at Odsal.

Three former world champions have already been confirmed as participants in the 40 and over competition – Alex Higgins, John Parrott and Johnson – and other entrants include six-times world runner-up Jimmy White, three-times semi-finalist Tony Knowles and former quarter-finalists Willie Thorne and Mike Hallett.

Johnson said: “This is great news for Bradford and I know the players are looking forward to coming to the club.

“We know Bradford is a snooker city as the Richard Dunn Sports Centre has been sold out for past Telegraph & Argus exhibition evenings, and that is only with two players.

“It is also just before the World Cup soccer finals but not long after the World Snooker Championships so snooker will be in people’s minds.”

Johnson added: “We are confident of getting a main sponsor and TV coverage.”

The eighth player in the field has yet to be named but Johnson said: “Ten players will be on site in any case.”

The best-of-three frame quarter-finals will be held on the Saturday afternoon, with the first semi-final to follow.

The second semi-final will be held on Sunday lunchtime, with the best-of-five frame final to follow.

In addition to the tournament itself – the Odsal venue will have a capacity of 400 around the match table – there will also be two sportsmans’ dinners.

One will be on the Friday night and the other on the Saturday night, both with a capacity of 80, and there will be a top snooker player on each of the ten tables.

It is a mystery as to why a seniors snooker tour has not come off before, as the mix of personalities would be a natural in terms of entertainment and sporting skill.

Senior tours are already popular in golf, tennis and motor racing but snooker’s past attempts have either been too ambitious or too flimsy.

But Shipley said: “With the backing of Johnson, who has served the sport both as a player and board member, our plans already have instant credibility.”

Shipley can be contacted on 07850-734868 if companies want to sponsor the event as a whole (a five-figure sum), be a frame sponsor, an arena advertising sponsor, a sportsmans’ dinner sponsor or an accommodation sponsor.

It is hoped that the inaugural event will be the forerunner of a world tour.

Johnson said: “I have already had interest from Bahrain – I used to coach Sheikh Abdullah and I coached their national team in preparation for the Asian Games – Malta, China and Thailand.”