The final Ireland and UK bid for Euro 2028 has been submitted. In the bid document, the combined five football associations of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England have proposed that nine cities and 10 stadia, including the Aviva Stadium (renamed as Dublin Arena) and Casement Park in Belfast, will host games. The latter is the only stadium in the bid that will require significant construction.
At a meeting of the GAA's central council last month, permission was granted allowing Croke Park and Casement Park, the home of Antrim GAA, to be included in the bid. However, Croke Park has not been included in the final bid.
Casement Park has been derelict since 2013 but is set to undergo a 34,578 capacity facelift. Stadia included in the bid were required to have a capacity of more than 30,000.
11 June 2020; A general view of Casement Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Ireland and UK Euro 2028 bid stadia
London - Wembley Stadium (90,652)
Cardiff - National Stadium of Wales (73,952)
London - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (62,322)
Manchester - City of Manchester Stadium (61,000)
Liverpool - Everton Stadium (52,679)
Newcastle - St James' Park (52,305)
Birmingham - Villa Park (52,190)
Glasgow - Hampden Park (52,032)
Dublin - Dublin Arena (51,711)
Belfast - Casement Park (34,500)
"The Aviva Stadium is rightfully recognised as a world-class venue with a proven track record in delivering major events," said FAI CEO Jonathan Hill.
"From a football perspective, just look at the atmosphere for the recent EURO 2024 qualifier against France and we can only imagine what it would be like if Ireland were to play a EURO 2028 fixture there. The Dublin Arena as it is known in the bid is the home of Irish football, it is a stadium we are proud of and one we will gladly show off to the world in 2028 as a showcase of Ireland’s rich football history and sporting heritage.
"In all major bid processes, you start with a short list of stadia, and this is whittled down to a final agreed list in order to give the bid the best chance of success and reflects the streamlined nature of the tournament. This bid started with 14 Stadia, and we now have our agreed final 10 which have been submitted. The Bid, with the exemption of London, is based on a ‘one city, one stadia’ principle and together we believe the list offers an array of superb stadia from across the UK and Ireland."
Euro 2028 will have almost three million tickets available for games, more than any previous European Championship.
A socio-economic impact study commissioned for the bid projects cumulative benefits of up to €3 billion from the tournament, with €241 million of that being generated in Ireland. A €51 million legacy fund will be invested in grassroots football.
Turkey is also in the running to host Euro 2028. A decision is expected in September or October.
In the latest in our video series, Mike Trice, leading designer on the project and senior principal architect with @PopulousLondon gives us a taste of what to expect at the new Casement Park when it is built.@UlsterGAA @AontroimGAA pic.twitter.com/IcMU5gonkB
— Casement Park (@CasementPark) December 21, 2022
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