On October 10, UEFA will reward the hosting of two European Championships: the 2028 and 2032 editions.
A five-way joint bid from the British and Irish countries has been submitted and the team will argue their case alongside Turkey, whose sole bid to host 2028 remains on the table despite also submitting a joint bid with Italy for Euro 2032 .
Sky Sports News senior reporter Geraint Hughes answers the most important questions ahead of UEFA’s decision for both tournaments…
Why the British and Irish Euro 2028 bid should succeed
Politics, financing and clarity will play their part in the successful bidders for Euro 2028 and 2032. Britain and Ireland’s bid is in strong form on all these fronts.
They withdrew from the race to be a European candidate to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which made life easier for UEFA as currently Spain, Portugal and Morocco will submit a joint bid, while Ukraine will also plans to join their submission.
While the entries from Great Britain and Ireland will have many questions from UEFA, a single Turkish bid for 2028 carries risks. They have previously offered unsuccessfully to host major tournaments and the logistical chaos faced by many Manchester City fans during the Champions League final in Istanbul earlier this year has not helped their cause.
However, a joint bid between Turkey and Italy in 2032 would be seen as a more prudent and safer option than a single bid for a tournament involving 24 countries in nine years.
What could stop Great Britain and Ireland’s Euro 2028 bid?
Euro 2028 is not an unopposed bull’s-eye for Great Britain and Ireland. UEFA is pushing for a full bid presentation in Nyon, Switzerland on October 10, and Turkey has not withdrawn from that process.
Noel Mooney, CEO of the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and former UEFA executive, is open to the outcome.
He said: “No one told me that Turkey is leaving from 2028 and until someone tells me, I have to take it as it is. No one told me and until we leave the venue in Nyon, we won’t believe we won this. Nobody takes anything for granted. It’s sports, football and politics!
“We (the joint UK-Ireland bid) agreed on everything quite quickly. We have an idea of what we are trying to do, we put forward what we all want to do for each of us and want to achieve that , and are satisfied to date with what we have done.”
Where are the games played?
The British and Irish submission proposes using ten stadiums by 2028. There is no Old Trafford and no Croke Park in Dublin in the bid. It is not surprising that England has the largest number of stadiums; it is the largest country and hosts the Premier League, where its facilities are the envy of many around the world.
In addition to Wembley, the stadiums of Tottenham, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Manchester City and Everton represent England. In Wales, the 74,500-capacity Principality Stadium is nominated ahead of Cardiff City Stadium.
Scotland has Hampden Park and Ireland has the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. In Northern Ireland, the redevelopment of Casement Park, a stadium used by the Gaelic Athletic Association, continues to be a cause for concern due to funding issues and the lack of a working government official at Stormont.
Mooney added; “It’s very collegial. We’ve put forward what we all want. It’s the bid that comes forward… For us, we want to have group games and then a few more games.
“I think we are looking for four, five or six games. We would be very happy and I think some other associations would be happy too.”
Who would organize the final?
Wembley is the largest stadium, but faced problems during the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy.
Although several of the submitted stadiums will house more than 60,000 fans in 2028, Mooney believes Wembley should be the focal point for the conclusion of Euro 2028.
“Britain is at the forefront of security and intelligence. The Euro 2020 final was a difficult day for many in terms of security – it was a shock because they are so good at managing these events,” he said.
“I would consider this a one-off event in this part of the world, and knowing what has been done with the report – which has been prepared and implemented – all those things are moving in the right direction. You can never do enough about it. security and I am sure we will have a fantastic security proposal.
“You look at a tournament to get as many people as possible to the games. It’s about getting access to this really glorious special tournament, that’s the principle we’re working on and based on that, Wembley has 90,000 people.
“Why would you deny tens of thousands of people access to a European Championship final because of politics? I think we should try to get as many people as possible to the games.”