Ireland and Britain remain the clear favourites to co-host Euro 2028 despite Russia and Turkey’s last ditch bids.
But the FAI must wait 18 months to discover if the tournament is coming here as UEFA won’t be revealing the winner until September 2023.
Earlier in the week, the Irish-British bid looked like winning by default as it was initially being touted as the only submission.
But Mirror Sport flagged on Tuesday that sources within the Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland camps were wary of a late Turkish bid.
That materialised yesterday, as did a shock Russian submission which is set to fail miserably amid their war on Ukraine.
Italy are the sole bidders for Euro 2032 and UEFA last night confirmed it had received submissions “from four potential bidders” for the 2028 and 2023 tournaments.
Russia’s national teams and clubs were - on February 28 - banned from all football activity by UEFA and FIFA following the invasion of Ukraine.
But the Russian Football Union itself was not suspended at the time, although their Euro 2028 push will garner little or no support.
Turkey has failed with its attempts to land some or all of the last five European Championships running.
And they are set to miss out again as the commercial clout of an Ireland-Britain bid will appeal far more to UEFA.
The FAI has been accused of chasing a vanity project by looking to host a major tournament when money could be better spent on other aspects of Irish football.
But FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill believes Euro 2028 will generate a financial windfall to serve all strands of the game in Ireland.
Hill was speaking yesterday after the Ireland-Britain bid was formally submitted to UEFA, but before news of Turkey and Russia’s late entry to the race.
Hill said: “The sporting and economic benefits that hosting the tournament present would be of major significance across all levels of our game for many years to come.
“If successful, I would see this as a catalyst for real growth in the game up to the tournament and beyond.
“(It would) generate new monies that can help further investment across all aspects of Irish football, be it in facilities or coaching.”
Hill also hailed confirmation of the Euro 2028 bid as a “significant day for Irish football”.
Minister for Sport Catherine Martin said: “The Government have agreed to support the football associations of the UK and Ireland with their submission.
“Officials in my Department will continue their examination of the costs and benefits of hosting the tournament prior to any final decision to bid.
“Hosting EURO 2028 games in Ireland could bring lots of benefits, not least to Ireland’s tourism sector.
“Hosting the tournament also offers a very considerable opportunity to strengthen East-West and North-South relations in the years ahead.”
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