UK & Ireland make joint bid to host 2028 European Championship finals

The Football Associations of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have submitted a join bid to host the 2028 European Championship finals.

Initially, there had been plans for a bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup finals but those plans have now been scrapped in favour of a bid for the EUROS.

The UK government have committed to a £2.8 million feasibility study into the bid which will include “an analysis of the economic impact, the political football landscape and likely costs of hosting major international tournaments.”

Joint statement on behalf of UK and Irish FAs

The football associations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland issued a joint statement earlier today.

Here is what was published, in full:

“Following an extensive feasibility study, which assessed the potential opportunities in international football, the football associations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland have agreed to focus on a bid to host UEFA EURO 2028, the third largest sports event in the world.

“The feasibility study included an analysis of the economic impact, the political football landscape and likely costs of hosting major international tournaments. On balance, the five associations have decided to focus solely on an official bid to host UEFA EURO 2028, and have agreed not to bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Hosting a UEFA EURO offers a similar return on investment, with the European tournament carrying a far lower delivery cost and the potential of the benefits being realised sooner.

“It would be an honour and a privilege to collectively host UEFA EURO 2028 and to welcome all of Europe. It would also be a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the true impact of hosting a world- class football tournament by driving positive change and leaving a lasting legacy across our communities.

“We believe the UK and the Republic of Ireland can offer UEFA and European football something special in 2028 – a compact and unique five-way hosting collaboration that will provide a great experience for the teams and the fans.

“We continue to collaborate with our Government Partners of the UK and Ireland about the next steps.

Why did UK and Ireland abandon joint bid to host FIFA World Cup?

As reported by the BBC, Julian Knight (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee chair) had previously described the prospective World Cup bid as a "giant, expensive vanity project" adding that “England’s international reputation means it would likely fail.”

The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be the 24th edition of Football’s biggest international tournament and is expected to feature 48 nations from six confederations competing.

Several federations have already outlined their intentions to bid to host the 2030 World Cup, the first of which came from Morocco.

A joint bid from South America which will feature Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile is also on the table as is a joint hid from Spain and Portugal.

A second bid from UEFA nations is also planned with Romania, Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia interested in a joint hosting.

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going. You can also sign up to our email newsletters and get a curated selection of our best reads to your inbox every day.