The United Kingdom and Ireland are set to win their bid to host Euro 2028 by default, with Turkey withdrawing from the race.
The UK and Ireland have been working on a joint bid to host Euro 2028, and they initially faced competition from Turkey.
But Sky News reported on Friday that Turkey have now requested to team up with Italy on their 2032 bid instead, leaving the UK and Ireland unopposed in 2028.
The appointment won’t be made official until October 10th, if and when the UEFA Executive Committee decide the bid complies with the bidding requirements. But that looks like a formality at this stage.
Sadly for any Arsenal getting excited about European Championship games at the Emirates Stadium, that possibility has already been ruled out.
From an initial shortlist of 14, Sky now report that the below list of stadiums would host the matches:
- London – Wembley Stadium
- London – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
- Manchester – City of Manchester Stadium
- Liverpool – Everton Stadium
- Birmingham – Villa Park
- Newcastle – St. James’ Park
- Belfast – Casement Park Stadium
- Dublin – Dublin Arena
- Glasgow – Hampden Park
- Cardiff – National Stadium of Wales
The Emirates Stadium may be a better ground to host the Euros than a stadium like Villa Park, but it’s not ideal to hold all your games in one city. It looks like only a couple of London grounds will be hosting matches.
Spreading the fixtures around the country helps with the logistics – you don’t want two or three major international fixtures in the same city on the same day – and it also allows people from all over the UK to see some local games.