Republic of Ireland supporters during the Euro 2024 Championship qualifying group B match against the Netherlands at the Aviva Stadium last month.
Ireland will land the prize of co-hosting the 2028 European Championships with the UK after it was confirmed that the rival bid from Turkey has dropped out ahead of next Tuesday’s announcement.
The UK and Ireland bid was the clear favourite to land the tournament and Turkey has made moves in recent months to link up with Italy to stage the 2032 equivalent – the decision for both tournaments will be made next week.
UEFA have this morning confirmed that Turkey have formally pulled out of the 2028 race which means that the unopposed UK and Ireland bid will just go forward for ratification in Nyon. Italy and Turkey will get the nod for 2032.
It’s proposed that Ireland will host six games in the finals – four group games, a round of 16 match and a quarter-final.
There’s a possibility that the number of games in the south will rise if the Casement Park project is not completed – that’s the only way that Northern Ireland will be able to house any tournament fixtures due to stadium regulations.
However, it’s unclear if automatic qualification will be granted to the five hosts. The scenario on the table is that two spots will be held back with the five teams all participating in qualification as normal. The top two ranked non-qualifiers would take the berths.
This plan would need approval before it was rubberstamped.
The FAI greeted the news with a statement heralding ‘exciting times’ and declaring that they have a ‘very compelling proposal’ for UEFA.
“Our bid is groundbreaking for the Men’s European Championships and will deliver lasting legacies across the whole of Ireland and the UK,” read the statement.
“We will share full details of the bid in Nyon next week and are confident that UEFA will approve our candidacy to host Euro 2028.”
