Euro 2028: UK & Ireland set to be announced as hosts by Uefa on Tuesday

9th Oct 2023 | Source: BBC

Italy are the defending European champions after beating England on penalties at Wembley

The UK and Republic of Ireland are set to be announced as hosts of the 2028 European Championships at a Uefa meeting in Switzerland on Tuesday.

The five-nation bid is now running unopposed after Turkey withdrew from the process last week.

Turkey merged their Euro 2032 bid with Italy in July and are set to be confirmed as joint-hosts for that tournament.

Both bids are running unopposed but still need official approval by Uefa.

"These are exciting times and we have a very compelling Euro 2028 proposal for Uefa," said last week's joint statement from the five national associations of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

"Our bid will be groundbreaking for the men's Euros and will deliver lasting legacies across the whole of the UK and Ireland."

Matches at the 2028 tournament are set to be held at 10 different grounds, including Glasgow's Hampden Park, Cardiff's Principality Stadium, Dublin's Aviva Stadium and Wembley in London.

Belfast's Casement Park and Everton's Bramley-Moore Dock, the former unbuilt while the latter is still under construction, are also included in the bid.

The Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales have never hosted a major tournament.

England were one of the 11 countries to host Euro 2020 along with Scotland, as well as being sole hosts of the 1966 World Cup and Euro 96. England also hosted the record-breaking Women's European Championships in 2022.

Wembley would be expected to host the final in 2028, a major test for the 90,000-capacity venue after the chaos surrounding its hosting of the Euro 2020 final.

A review into disorder at the final found "ticketless, drunken and drugged-up thugs" could have caused death as they stormed the stadium.

The UK and Republic of Ireland focused on a Euro 2028 bid, with Uefa's approval, when they ended a plan to be Europe's preferred candidate for the 2030 World Cup.

While Italy had only bid for the 2032 tournament, Turkey had bid to host both Euro 2028 and 2032 and waited for their joint bid with Italy to be approved last week before withdrawing from the running to host Euro 2028.

Turkey hosted June's Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan at Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium, but a major international tournament has never been held in the country.

Reigning European champions Italy hosted the Euros in 1968 and 1980, while Rome's Stadio Olimpico was also used as a venue at Euro 2020.

Germany will host the 2024 edition of the tournament with the last Championships being played in 2021 instead of 2020 following the Covid-19 Pandemic.