The 2028 European Championships is set to be hosted by the UK and Ireland, after rivals Turkey decided to pull out of the bidding process.
It means the UK and Ireland will go unopposed, when UEFA officially announce the hosts for the championships in five years time.
Turkey pulled out of the process as they now look to be in line to host the following European Championships in 2032 – in a joint unopposed bid with Italy.
A formal decision on hosts for both events will take place on October 10 in Nyon.
The UK and Ireland focused on a Euro 2028 bid, with UEFA’s approval, when they ended a plan to be Europe’s preferred candidate for the 2030 World Cup.
The UK and Ireland will host Euro 2028 after their only opposition pulled out of the bidding process
Wembley hosted games for Euro 2020 championships, in which England reached the final
Italy, who beat England in the final at Euro 2020, could host Euro 2032 in a joint-bid with Turkey who pulled out of the bidding process for 2028
Stadiums named in the UK and Ireland’s Euro 2028 bid
Casement Park (Belfast) – 34,500
Dublin Arena – 51,711
Etihad Stadium (Manchester) – 61,000
Everton’s new ground at Bramley Moore Dock (Liverpool) – 52,679
Hampden Park (Glasgow) – 52,032
Principality Stadium (Cardiff) – 73,952
St James’ Park (Newcastle) – 52,305
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (London) – 62,322
Villa Park (Birmingham) – 52,190
Wembley Stadium (London) – 90,652
They would have faced stiff competition for the 2030 World Cup rights, with Morocco looking to join Spain and Portugal in a three-way bid to stage that tournament.
It is not yet known if all five countries involved in the bid – England, Scotland, Wales, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland – will play in the tournament.
The Independent previously reported that it is ‘unlikely’ UEFA will award five automatic places to those countries for the 24-team tournament.
The UK and Ireland revealed the details behind their bid back in April, including the ten stadiums that will host games should they be awarded the tournament.
Two stadiums proposed have not yet been built – Everton’s Bramley-Moore Dock and Casement Park in Belfast.
Work on Everton’s new stadium has already begun, while Irish FA chief executive Patrick Nelson insisted that construction of the new Casement Park will go ahead once the bid is successful.
Casement Park, a Gaelic games venue in Belfast, was selected even though it has not been used since 2013 and work has yet to start on transforming it into a new 34,500-capacity stadium.
As well as Everton’s future home, other English stadiums including Man City’s Etihad Stadium, Newcastle’s St James’ Park, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Villa Park and Wembley Stadium.
Map showing the ten stadiums that have been selected as part of the UK and Ireland’s bid
Everton’s future home at Bramley-Moore Dock made the UK and Ireland’s bid, with Liverpool’s Anfield stadium not in the running because its pitch size does not meet UEFA requirements
Work on Casement Park in Belfast will go ahead when the UK and Ireland bid is officially confirmed
The other grounds picked are Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, Glasgow’s Hampden Park and Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.
Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium was the most notable venue to miss the cut, with Liverpool’s home Anfield and the London Stadium – West Ham’s home which also staged the London 2012 Olympics – also not part of the UK and Ireland’s submission.
United said they ‘mutually agreed to withdraw from the shortlist’ because they could not provide ‘the necessary certainty around the availability of Old Trafford due to potential redevelopment of the stadium’, while Anfield was never in the running because its pitch size does not meet UEFA requirements.
A number of games were played in England for the staging of the delayed Euro 2020 championship – which took place in the summer of 2021.
Wembley hosted the final which saw England reach their first men’s final since the 1966 World Cup.
However, Italy prevailed on the day as they beat Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions after a penalty shootout.
Full details behind the UK and Ireland’s Euro 2028 bid were revealed in April, with Wembley Stadium one of ten venues named to stage matches during the tournament
The Aviva Stadium in Dublin (left) and Hampden Park in Glasgow are also included
Old Trafford will not host games at Euro 2028 after the largest club ground in England was cut from the list of venues submitted to UEFA as part of the UK and Ireland’s bid
The British and Irish bid was backed by prime minister Rishi Sunak, Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar, Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf and Wales’ first minister Mark Drakeford.
They said earlier this year in a statement: ‘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.’
The bid submission predicts that the 2028 tournament will generate ‘cumulative socio-economic benefits of up to £2.6billion for our nations’. Sustainability is placed as a top priority, with a promise that 80 per cent of ticket holders will be able to travel to matches by public transport.
Euro 2024 is being hosted alone by Germany, who beat Turkey in a vote back in September 2018.
Turkey will be hoping their bid with Italy gets them over the line, as their failure to win the rights for Euro 2024 meaning they have unsuccessfully bid to host every Euros since 2008.
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