SCOTLAND has joined with the rest of the UK and Republic of Ireland in a bid to host Euro 2028.
Only Hampden Park has been picked to host games, with more than half of the matches taking place in England.
Wembley, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, St James’ Park, Villa Park and Everton’s new stadium – which is still under construction – will all host matches in England, as will Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, which has been preferred to Old Trafford.
Hampden Park in Glasgow, Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Dublin’s Aviva Stadium and Casement Park in Belfast – which requires building work – are the other venues being proposed in the bid.
The only competing bid has come from Turkey, who have put forward a proposal to host either Euro 2028 or Euro 2032.
“Our pioneering five-way partnership will deliver a record-breaking and unforgettable UEFA Euro,” Debbie Hewitt, chair of the UK and Ireland bid, said in a statement.
“We will work together tirelessly to be the best partners for UEFA and to deliver on every one of our shared priorities.
“We will focus on growing football, connecting with and engaging new fans, players and volunteers.
Support from all governments involved in the bid came in the form of a joint statement from First Minister Humza Yousaf, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
“Together, our nations will host an outstanding UEFA Euro 2028,” it read.
“It will be the biggest sporting event our islands have ever jointly staged – a passionate and unforgettable celebration, with long-term benefits for our cities and communities as well as all European football.
“Our Governments are fully committed to hosting UEFA Euro 2028. Drawing on our collective experience of hosting major events, we will work with our five Football Associations and UEFA to deliver the best possible tournament – a welcoming, exciting and safe football festival that players, fans and the entire UEFA family will enjoy in every city and at every game.
“We will be honoured to deliver a tournament that truly brings our vision to life. Together with UEFA, we will build upon the proud traditions of using the power of football to inspire, and create new opportunities for football and communities across the UK and Ireland, now and for future generations.
“Our unique and unprecedented UEFA Euro 2028 will welcome the world to iconic destinations and, above all, bring people together.”
The bid carries the slogan ‘Football for all, football for good, football for the future’, and claims 80 percent of ticket-holders would be able to travel to matches by public transport. It also predicts benefits of up to £2.6billion for the nations involved.
Scotland’s FA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: “We’re delighted to get to this point. There’s been a huge amount of work over a long period of time.
Talking about the impact co-hosting the tournament could have for Scotland, Maxwell added: “Economically, over 2.6 billion of socio-economic benefit will come to the UK and Ireland which would be fantastic.
“We missed out on that to an extent with Euro 2020 because of the Covid restrictions.
“We didn’t see the benefit of hosting full stadiums at Hampden as much as we would have liked. It’s important to put that right and we can’t underestimate the impact it would have on Glasgow and Scotland.”
