The UK and Ireland appear set to land co-hosting rights to UEFA Euro 2028, with no other bids having been submitted to stage the national team football tournament.
According to The Times, UEFA will formally appoint the UK and Ireland as co-hosts of the competition on April 7. The report added that Turkey has ruled itself out of bidding for the event, while Russia, which had previously expressed an interest, is out of the running following its invasion of Ukraine.
The football associations of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will reportedly have until the end of the year to provide UEFA with government guarantees to host the tournament. Italy is also set to be awarded hosting rights for Euro 2032 after confirming its bid for that event rather than Euro 2028 to allow more time to build new stadiums and renovate existing venues.
The UK and Ireland announced their intention to focus on a joint proposal to host Euro 2028 in February, ending plans to stage the 2030 FIFA World Cup. The announcement followed an extensive feasibility study, which included an analysis of the economic impact, the political football landscape and likely costs of hosting major international tournaments.
In a joint statement, the associations of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland claimed that hosting Euro 2028 would offer a similar return on investment to the 2030 World Cup, with the former carrying “far lower” delivery costs. It is also felt that the potential benefits of hosting Euro 2028 would be realised sooner.
If the UK and Ireland are confirmed as hosts, two thirds of the matches would be held in England, according to The Times. The final would be held at Wembley.
UEFA officially opened the bidding process for Euro 2028 back in October and interested member associations were given until March to declare their interest.
Germany landed hosting rights to Euro 2024 in September 2018, with the tournament to be held in 10 stadia across the country. UEFA chose Germany over a rival bid from Turkey. Germany gained 12 of the UEFA Executive Committee votes to Turkey’s four, with one abstention.
Image: Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash
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