The UK and Ireland have dropped their bid to host to 2030 World Cup and agreed to focus on a joint bid for the 2028 European Championship instead.
The five nations have been conducting a feasibility study into hosting the World Cup in 2030 but are thought to be have been advised by senior figures in football that a bid would be too risky, given FIFA's aim of taking the tournament to new territories.
Prince William, the president of the English FA, is understood to be reluctant to back a World Cup bid if there was a high chance of failure given the experience of missing out on the tournament in 2018.
The decision is a fresh blow to prime minister Boris Johnson, with the Conservative Party having included a pledge to bid for 2030 in their latest manifesto and the government putting up £11million in support in October's budget.
Spain and Portugal are thought to be the main European contenders for 2030, and there is also a joint South American bid aiming to mark the centenary of the first World Cup, which was held in Uruguay in 1930.
However, a British and Irish bid for Euro 2028 is thought to have a good chance of success, with Uefa planning to expand the tournament from 24 to 32 teams that year and the governing body said to be keen for a low-risk event in countries where much of the infrastructure is already in place.
Russia and Turkey are also interested in bidding for Euro 2028 but a British-Irish bid would be regarded as the favourite because Russia hosted the last World Cup, while Turkey has had a series of unsuccessful bids for the Euros.
In a joint statement, the Football Associations of the five nations said on Monday morning: “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 Euros 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.”
English FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said: "We looked at two fantastic events in the World Cup and Euros. Both are multi-billion economic impact events for our countries.
"The ROI [return on investment] for both is similar. For the Euros, we have a very clear bidding landscape and bidding timeline and we know we can put together a highly competitive bid. With the World Cup, there are many areas of uncertainty – in terms of a timeline and the frequency of events.
"We know that UEFA has been very transparent with all 55 countries that they want to use 2024 and 2028 Euros to rebuild their coffers which they've had to use during the pandemic and we believe we can deliver a really strong commercial return for UEFA, and we feel that puts us in a strong position."
Our hope and expectation is the Government will come out in support across all our five federations.
Discussions are ongoing with UEFA about venues, with the five nations confident of being able to host a 24 or 32-team tournament.
Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell acknowledged that Wembley was currently "the firm favourite" to host the final and insisted it was "very much a collegiate bid", rather than an English-led enterprise.
Irish FA CEO Patrick Nelson said Northern Ireland was hopeful of staging matches, despite not currently having any grounds which meet UEFA's criteria for the Euros.
Talks are also taking place over how many, if any, automatic qualifying places would be made available to the five hosts.
“Government, we believe, will go public on their position in the few weeks,” Bullingham added. “Our hope and expectation is they will come out in support across all our five federations.”
Federations have until March 23 to express interest in hosting the Euros in a 24 or 32-team format, or both, with UEFA expected to announce the winner by September next year.
