UK and Ireland set to be confirmed as hosts of Euro 2028 today
The UK and Ireland are today expected to be effectively confirmed as joint hosts of Euro 2028 after no other bidders came forward.
Russia and Turkey had been in the running but the war in Ukraine caused the former to drop out and the latter lacked the support to rival the UK and Ireland.
The deadline for bids is today and the decision is due to be formally ratified when governing body Uefa meets next month.
The football associations of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland announced last month that they were switching focus to a bid for Euro 2028 after accepting defeat in their efforts to secure the 2030 World Cup.
Uefa is said top favour a 2030 World Cup bid from Spain and Portugal and can only put forward one candidate to world governing body Fifa.
England and Scotland hosted several matches at last year’s delayed Euro 2020, which was played across Europe.
Wembley hosted the final, both semi-finals and all of England’s group matches, while Glasgow’s Hampden Park staged group games.
The final was marred by crowd trouble, which saw hundreds of ticketless fans attempt to enter the stadium – some successfully.
However, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin was quick to reassure the FA that it would not prevent England from staging further prestigious international events such as Euro 2028.
The national stadium will be used for one such game in June when Euro 2020 winners Italy face South American champions Argentina in a one-off game dubbed the Finalissima.
The UK and Ireland dropped its interest in the 2030 World Cup after conducting a feasibility study that also concluded that hosting Euro 2028 would offer many of the same benefits but at much lower cost.