The UK and Ireland are set to host soccer’s 2028 UEFA European Championships with no rival bids forthcoming to stage the continent’s top-tier national teams tournament.
The respective nations could be confirmed as hosts by European soccer’s governing body this week as no other countries are expected to submit bids before tomorrow’s (March 23) deadline.
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UEFA, which is planning to expand the tournament from 24 to 32 teams in 2028, was not due to announce the hosts until September 2023, with an expectation that multiple bids would be placed.
As a result, Euro 2028 will be staged across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland.
UEFA will set a deadline of the end of the year by which all the necessary government guarantees will have to be submitted. Failure to do so will see the continental body re-open the bidding process for the tournament.
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The soccer associations of the aforementioned five countries announced a planned joint bid for Euro 2028 last month (February 7) and scrapped plans to bid for the 2030 World Cup.
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By GlobalDataThe decision had been taken following “an extensive feasibility study, which assessed the potential opportunities in international football.”
The feasibility study included “an analysis of the economic impact, the political football landscape, and likely costs of hosting major international tournaments.”
The FIGC, the Italian national federation, recently announced plans to host either the 2028 or 2032 European Championships and now appears to have opted for the latter.
Turkey and Russia were also believed to have been interested but the latter’s recent invasion of Ukraine and subsequent ban from UEFA club and national team competitions effectively ended its hopes.
Based on UEFA’s co-hosting rules, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland are unlikely to qualify for the tournament automatically.
The next edition of the Euros in 2024 will be held in Germany.
A major soccer tournament has not been staged in the UK in its entirety since 1996 when England hosted the Euros.
However, the country hosted the majority of last summer’s Euro 2020, with seven matches, including both semi-finals and the final, held at Wembley Stadium in London.
Scotland’s Hampden Park hosted four games at Euro 2020, while the Republic of Ireland’s Aviva Stadium was due to hold some group stage games but pulled out of hosting duties due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Crowd trouble marred the Euro 2020 final at Wembley, which England lost to Italy, and the national team has subsequently been given a two-game stadium ban by UEFA as a result, albeit with the second suspended for a probationary period of two years.
The Football Association was also fined €100,000 ($112,000) but it seems the crowd trouble from the final will not affect the UK and Ireland bid.
England previously failed with a bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
