Uefa are in talks with the GAA over the use of Croke Park as a spill-off fanzone amid concerns around the hosting of the Europa League final in Dublin this May.
The showpiece event for European football's secondary competition is due to take place at the Aviva Stadium on Wednesday May 22nd, and Miguel Delaney of The Independent writes that Uefa have expressed their concerns with Irish authorities over Dublin's capacity to manage the potential arrival of hundreds of thousands of fans.
Croke Park is now being considered as a spill-off fanzone, and the Irish Examiner has since reported that this would only be the case if Liverpool are involved.
Liverpool are one of a number of heavily-supported clubs that are still involved in the competition, along with AC Milan, Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma, Rangers and West Ham.
All would attract sizeable crowds but Liverpool's strong supporter-base in Ireland could mean that Dublin city centre would be a sea of red on the day of the game.
📌 Dublin, 2024 ⏳#UEL pic.twitter.com/VA3fs5TnZn
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) November 28, 2023
Uefa looking to use Croke Park as Europa League final fanzone
Hotel rooms are also likely to be extremely hard to come by for the event and when you add security concerns into the mix, the potential headaches are piling up.
Dublin's hosting of the Europa League final came about after the city was promised one of Uefa's showpieces after failing to meet hosting requirements for the Covid-hit Euro 2020 tournament, after the Aviva was initially set to host four matches at the tournament.
The GAA have confirmed to the Examiner that they are in discussions with Uefa over the use of Croke Park.
The residents of the area could also have a say, as Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC and Coldplay are all set to perform at GAA HQ this summer, and the stadium's neighbours have historically taken issue with the number of events taking place on their doorstep.
Whether they would be keen on having thousands of football supporters filing past their front doors in May remains to be seen.
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