The UK and Ireland bid to host Euro 2028 is now unopposed after UEFA announced Turkey’s decision to withdraw from the process.
It comes after UEFA said it received a request from Italy and Turkey to combine their individual bids for Euro 2032, leaving England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as the sole bidders to stage the 2028 tournament.
It means the islands will hold the tournament subject to final approval from UEFA’s executive committee in Switzerland next week.
It comes after Europe’s governing body said it received a request from Italy and Turkey to combine their individual bids for Euro 2032, leaving England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as the sole bidders to stage the 2028 tournament.
Italy has only bid for 2032 but Turkey went for both competitions.
While the development has been met with excitement among British and Irish football fans – concerns have been raised about the capacity of police to handle the event following chaotic scenes at the final of the Euros at Wembley Stadium in 2021.
A statement by European football’s governing body said: “Further to the announcement on 28 July which revealed the desire of the Italian and Turkish FAs to submit a joint bid to stage UEFA EURO 2032, the UEFA administration has today written to both associations to confirm that their joint bid has been duly received and will go forward for assessment and consideration by the UEFA Executive Committee.
“As indicated by the FA of Turkiye with its submission of the request for a joint bid, their bid to stage UEFA EURO 2028 is consequently withdrawn.”
If the 2028 bid by England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is approved, 10 stadia across the five nations would host matches: Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Etihad Stadium, Everton’s new Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium, Villa Park and St James’ Park in England, a redeveloped Casement Park in Belfast, the Avia Stadium in the Republic of Ireland, Hampden Park in Scotland and the Cardiff National Stadium in Wales.
The five nations released a joint statement in response to UEFA’s update, which said: “We are looking forward to presenting our bid to UEFA on October 10. These are exciting times, and we have a very compelling Euro 2028 proposal for UEFA.
“Our bid is ground-breaking for the men’s European Championships and will deliver lasting legacies across the whole of Ireland and the UK.
“We will share full details of the bid in Nyon next week and are confident that UEFA will approve our candidacy to host Euro 2028.”
There are no guarantees all five nations will qualify for the finals – UEFA’s favoured plan is understood to be for all five nations to go through qualification, with two host nation places available for any failing to qualify.
However, if more than two nations fail to qualify on merit, only the two best-performing countries would make it.
