All five British Isle Nations of England, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales have launched a joint bid for UEFA Euro 2028.
This decision comes after reports that UEFA wouldn’t back a joint-bid for 2030 FIFA World Cup following the public disorder at Euro 2020 Final in London, England last summer.
All five countries have conducted a joint ‘feasibility study’ concerning economic impact and political football landscape, on top of the cost of hosting a major international tournament, which has led to their joint decision to drop their World Cup bid in favour of ‘an official bid’ for Euro 2028.
Explaining their decision to not bid for the World Cup and instead bid for hosting rights of Euro 2028, the statement said: ‘Hosting a UEFA EURO offers a similar return on investment, with the European tournament carrying a far lower delivery cost and the potential of the benefits being realised sooner.
‘It would be an honour and a privilege to collectively host UEFA EURO 2028 and to welcome all of Europe.
‘It would also be a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the true impact of hosting a world-class football tournament by driving positive change and leaving a lasting legacy across our communities.’
All five home nations also iterated that they believe that UK and Republic of Ireland as a whole ‘can offer UEFA and European football something special in 2028 – a compact and unique five-way hosting collaboration that will provide a great experience for the teams and the fans.’
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will continue to conduct collaborative discussions with the UK Government, whilst Republic of Ireland will hold talks with the Irish Government as well as with each other and both governments as a whole.
It is therefore expected that Wembley Stadium, Windsor Park, Aviva Stadium, Hampden Park and Cardiff City Stadium will host matches, alongside at least five further stadiums across the UK and Ireland.
UK and Republic of Ireland however will face tricky opposition for Euro 2028 hosting rights with Romania, Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia also launching a joint bid, whilst Turkey will launch a single country host bid.
Spain and Portugal are expected to submit a joint bid either for Euro 2028 or 2030 FIFA World Cup with a decision expected in coming weeks, whilst Italy and Russia are also interested in the tournament but yet to confirm their bid plans.
The Euro 2028 host won’t be announced until September 2023 but the deadline for registering official interest in launching bids is on 23 March 2022 at 6pm CET (5pm GMT UK time).
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