SFA chief Ian Maxwell believes Scotland WILL co-host the 2028 European Championships – but it WON’T be at a new-look Hampden. The UK and Ireland are competing with Turkey to stage the event, with UEFA set to announce the winner in September next year.
Maxwell believes the home nations are favourites to land the tournament, which means Scotland will host their second Euros after 2020. Previously, both Maxwell and SFA president Rod Petrie said if Britain were successful with a bid to host the World Cup, finance would be available to renovate Hampden. But the chief executive says the Euros aren’t as lucrative.
And he’s warned the Tartan Army that - even if the 2028 finals come to Glasgow - the national stadium will only undergo minor improvements. The old ground has often been criticised for its lay-out and lack of atmosphere. But Maxwell insists, when it’s full, it’s one of the best stadiums on the continent. The old ground has often been criticised for its lay-out and lack of atmosphere. But Maxwell insists, when it’s full, it’s one of the best stadiums on the continent.
He said: “We’re going through the process for Euro 2028. We had a bid meeting last week and now have information from UEFA on what we’d need to provide, which is extensive.
“They put a lot of demands on you whether it’s the stadium, the local council or the government. But rightly so because it’s one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
“I’m really confident that we’ll be able to put forward a compelling bid with the five other associations. We’ll have a commercially strong bid.
“UEFA aren’t daft, they’ve been hit as hard as anyone due to Covid. So they’ll be looking at the Euros and trying to recoup some of that money.
“The commercial benefit of the next few Euros will be important to them. People know what they get with the UK in terms of our ability to put on major events. We have a pedigree in that.
“We’ve delivered it before so there’s no reason why we can’t again. Hopefully we get the right decision so we can see another major Finals here.
“That would be fantastic for us all. And what it means for Hampden will be interesting.
“When we talked about a big reconstruction of the stadium it was more in a World Cup context. Because that’s a bigger event, it would help us leverage more financial support.
“Whether we would have the same level of finance with the Euros remains to be seen. What it would do, as with Euro 2020, is allow us to upgrade a lot of the hospitality boxes and kiosks.
“It’s more about incremental changes, even stuff like the floodlights, which allows us to do things before the game. We can implement stuff like that to keep improving the match day experience.
“Hampden gets a bad reputation. But I would doubt anyone who was here against Israel when we got a last minute winner or when we beat Denmark would say it was anything other than a great stadium. When it’s full and bouncing, it’s as good as any.”
Maxwell hopes that between now and 2028, Hampden could host a major European final to boost the finances further.
He said: “We’re at 2022 now and bidding for 2028. But is there something we can stick in between, like a European final or other games or events, which keep us improving the stadium?”
