Ireland and UK’s Euro 2028 bid now submitted
The UK and Ireland has formally submitted its initial bid to host Euro 2028 to UEFA.
The five associations confirmed in a statement that an ‘expression of interest’ (EOI) had been filed, which has the support of the governments of the UK, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The EOI submission comes on deadline day for interested parties to confirm their interest to UEFA, with reports earlier this week that the UK and Ireland bid was set to be unopposed.
The statement confirming the EOI pointed out the fivenation bid’s capability to host a 32-team finals, should UEFA opt to increase the number of teams from the current 24.
A statement read: “With this unique partnership, we are taking the appropriate next steps and our ambition is tostageasuccessfulUEFAEuro which will be a wonderful celebrationoffootballforfansand teams. We believe Euro 2028 would be one of the greatest sporting events ever held in the UK and Ireland.
“This unprecedented partnership of five associations offers something special to European football, including the potential for an expanded tournament, and we are passionate about maximising the sustainability and legacy benefits for communities across the UK and Ireland.
“Over the coming months, we will develop our proposals further, subject to the publication by UEFA of the full technicalspecification.Thisincludes engaging in discussions with possible host cities and stadia todefinetheoptimumtournament model and conducting a fullcostsandbenefitsanalysis.
“TheUKandIrelandwilloffer an unrivalled tournament from a technical perspective that makes our partnership ideal to host Euro 2028.”