UK, Ireland Set To Host Euro 2028 As Turkey Withdraws Bid

A joint bid from the United Kingdom and Ireland to host Euro 2028 has emerged as the uncontested choice after Turkey withdrew from the bidding process, as announced by UEFA on Wednesday.

The decision came after Britain and Ireland opted to focus on hosting the European Championship, abandoning their plans to bid for the 2030 World Cup. Their bid for Euro 2028 was already considered the front-runner.

UEFA is set to reveal the hosts for both the 2028 and 2032 European Championships at a meeting of its executive committee on October 10.

Turkey, which had previously made unsuccessful bids to host every Euro tournament since 2008, initially entered the race for both the 2028 and 2032 editions. However, in July, Turkey agreed to collaborate with Italy in a bid for the 2032 tournament, without specifying its stance on the 2028 bid. UEFA has now confirmed that Turkey has shifted its focus entirely to the joint bid with Italy.

As a result, the selection process for both editions is expected to proceed without further complications, with the UK and Ireland as the sole contenders for Euro 2028 and Italy and Turkey unopposed for Euro 2032.

The last time England hosted a major men's tournament was during Euro 96, which featured 16 teams. It also recently hosted the final of the 24-team Euro 2020, postponed by a year due to the pandemic, at Wembley Stadium. England and Scotland collectively hosted 12 matches during that competition.

Italy, although hosting matches in Rome for Euro 2020, has not hosted a standalone international tournament since the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The nation previously held the final stages of the four-team Euro in 1968 and the eight-team tournament in 1980.

Turkey recently hosted the UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul in June of the same year but has never secured the rights to host a major international competition.

Russia initially expressed interest in hosting either the 2028 or 2032 European Championship, but UEFA subsequently ruled out any bid from the Russian Football Union. This decision followed the suspension of Russian clubs and national teams from all UEFA competitions due to the conflict in Ukraine.

The upcoming Euro tournament will take place in Germany from June 14 to July 14 next year.

SportsLigue