The Irish Government has called for the country to take on additional UEFA Euro 2028 matches following Belfast’s removal from the hosting plan.
Ireland is currently scheduled to host six matches at Aviva Stadium in Dublin and it is yet to be decided how Belfast’s five games will be reallocated. Northern Ireland was effectively removed from the Euro 2028 hosting plan after the UK government last month announced that it would not be providing funding to redevelop Belfast’s Casement Park stadium due to the significant cost increases involved in the project.
It had been expected that the five matches due to take place at Casement Park would be split between Aviva Stadium, London’s Wembley Stadium, Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, and Glasgow’s Hampden Park.
UEFA is said to have already rejected the idea of Croke Park joining Aviva Stadium as a second host venue in Dublin. Cork’s Páirc uí Chaoimh has also previously been proposed and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, has hinted at a move to Cork with an appeal for a “regional” spread of games.
The Euro 2028 issue was discussed as the Irish Government yesterday (Thursday) published Ireland’s first-ever Major International Sports Events Policy and Strategy Framework. Martin said, according to the Irish Independent: “I think that’s ultimately for the stakeholders themselves to decide. But yes, the more that can be held on a wider spread … I always talk about regional tourism as well, and looking at the 250,000 people working in tourism, 70% of them are in the regions.”
Minister of State for Sport, Physical Education and the Gaeltacht, Thomas Byrne, added: “We want more matches, we’ve expressed a view to UEFA, we want them on a regional basis. I’ve spoken about that before. Our overarching objective is to have more games on the island. There are ongoing discussions with partners about that, but it is their decision at the end of the day.”
Páirc uí Chaoimh is home to the Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and the Independent said senior figures within the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) have doubts over the suitability of the stadium, due to capacity issues and other logistical factors, along with a clash with the GAA season in June.
The Páirc has a current seating capacity of 23,000, plus a further 24,000 for standing on terraces, with the former figure providing a challenge to overcome.
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