The UK and Ireland’s bid to host Euro 2028 has been formally approved this morning.
The UEFA executive committee has given the green light to the five-nation bid, which was unopposed after Turkey withdrew last week, after a meeting at its headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The ExCo decision took place after a presentation by the UK and Ireland Football Association leaders and Welsh football star, Gareth Bale.
Hampden Park is one of the ten stadiums, and the only Scottish venue, included in the submission.
🇬🇧➕🇮🇪 CONFIRMED: #EURO2028 will take place in the UK and Republic of Ireland!
— UEFA (@UEFA) October 10, 2023
Proposed venues include Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Dublin, Glasgow, Liverpool, London (x2) Manchester and Newcastle.
Congratulations to our confirmed hosts! pic.twitter.com/elnLbjWgam
Six are in England with Wembley, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Etihad Stadium, St James’ Park, Villa Park and Everton’s new home at Bramley-Moore Dock
A redeveloped Casement Park in Belfast, the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and the Principality Stadium in Cardiff are the other stadia included in the submission.
Despite co-hosting the event, Scotland will likely not automatically qualify for the tournament. It is widely expected that all five co-hosts will progress through the qualification process as is normal.
Even with Turkey in the running, the five-nation bid was the overwhelming favourite to be selected.
Euro 2028 UK & Ireland will be the largest major sporting event the nations have ever jointly staged.
A statement on the Scottish FA website reads: "The UEFA EURO 2028 bid was successful thanks to its clear and compelling vision to help domestic and European football grow a more diverse and inclusive game, connect with new audiences and inspire the next generation of players, fans and volunteers. The UK and Ireland expressed this vision as ‘Football for all. Football for good. Football for the future’.
"The UK and Ireland was also awarded the Tournament based on the nations’ collective wealth of operational experience and world-class technical facilities – with a long track-record of staging successful major sporting events, including the ground-breaking UEFA Women’s EURO 2022.
"UEFA EURO 2028 UK & Ireland promises commercial success by delivering record-breaking crowds with high-capacity, world-famous football grounds and state-of-the-art new venues:
- Approximately three million tickets available – more than any previous UEFA EURO
- Average stadia capacity of 58,000 so more fans than ever before will attend matches
- Matches hosted around our nations and regions to reach as many communities as possible
- Creating safe, family-friendly and fun experiences, we estimate 5 million fans will take part in UEFA Festivals across the UK and Ireland
"To mark the bid victory at home, the captains of the men’s national football teams joined local youth players to celebrate the announcement."
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