Get in! We’re confirmed as Euro ’28 hosts
IRELAND and Great Britain were yesterday confirmed as hosts for soccer’s 2028 European Championships – a win that could be worth up to €360million to the economy.
The joint bid was the only formal proposal left on the table after Turkey withdrew its applications for the competition. It will now co-host the 2032 tournament with Italy.
Dublin’s Aviva Stadium and Belfast’s Casement Park will host several games in 2028, along with stadia in Glasgow, London, Liverpool and Manchester. However, Ireland will not directly qualify for the finals of the tournament due to the number of host nations involved. Instead, the five teams (Republic of Ireland, Northern
Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland) will go through normal qualification with two spots held back for any countries who do not qualify via this path. If more than two host teams do not get through the normal qualification process, then the two sides with the best record will advance. Despite the good news, concerns have been raised in the North over the planned redevelopment of Casement Park ahead of the tournament. SDLP MLA Justin McNulty said discussions must begin immediately on how the construction of the stadium can be funded. He stated that there is political will to redevelop the GAA stadium, while Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill said hosting international matches there is the ‘opportunity of a lifetime’.
Casement Park was listed in the bid but the site is currently derelict and plans by the GAA to redevelop it with a 34,000 capacity have been mired in controversy and hit by delays. The project has been held up by a series of legal challenges and is further complicated by the lack of a functioning Executive at Stormont.
Speaking about the winning bid, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: ‘We’re willing to invest in the Aviva Stadium and Casement Park to ensure that the stadia, North and South, are ready to welcome the world.’
He added: ‘Football truly is a global sport, played on every continent, and is transcendent of race, social class or gender. I really think we can use this tournament to showcase Ireland to the world and bring people together.’
Sport Minister Catherine Martin said: ‘The award of the tournament to Ireland and the UK rewards the intensive NorthSouth and east-west co-operation in the preparation and presentation of the bid.’
She added that ‘it also provides a great opportunity to build upon that partnership to deliver a tournament that will mean so much to communities across Ireland and the UK’.