The United Kingdom and Ireland will aspire to organize Euro 2028 and rule out the 2030 World Cup

The United Kingdom and Ireland will launch a joint bid to host the 2028 European Championship, while ruling out hosting the World Cup in 2030, their federations announced today.

The British federations (from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and the Irish one released an official statement with this announcement, which confirms the intention advanced in recent weeks by the sports officials of both countries.

“Hosting a UEFA European Championship offers a similar return (to that of a World Cup) for investments, and the European tournament carries a much lower cost and the potential for benefits to be achieved sooner,” the note said.

The signing federations claim to have carried out an “extensive feasibility study” on the opportunities of hosting a major international competition and for this reason they have opted to aspire to the 2028 European Championship, “the third largest sporting event in the world”.

That analysis included the “economic impact of the tournament, the political landscape of football and the likely costs” of hosting a major international championship, which led them to opt for continental competition and rule out the world.

For the organizations of both countries, the possibility of collaboration between five federations in the European Championship can offer football “something special in 2028”, which will also mean “a great experience for teams and fans.

“It would also be a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the true impact of hosting a world-class tournament in driving positive change and leaving a lasting legacy in our communities,” the statement said.

The federations indicate that they will continue to collaborate with the governments of the United Kingdom and Ireland to prepare the next steps of that candidacy.

England was already the main venue for the last European Championship, held in 2021, hosting several matches in the group stage, round of 16, in addition to the semifinals and the final, but its aspiration to the 2030 World Cup was damaged by the unfortunate incidents that took place on the day of the final at Wembley.

The preview of England-Italy at Wembley became a huge bottle in which hundreds of people managed to sneak into the venue due to poor organization by the stadium’s security.

This led to a high financial fine from UEFA as well as a sanction of playing two games behind closed doors (if the events are not repeated, England will only serve one).

Faced with the risk of a new failure of a bid for the World Cup, as already happened for the 2018, when it went to Russia, the British organizations have preferred to focus their efforts on the European Championship.

The deadline for submitting applications ends next March and the designation of the hosts will take place in September 2023.

For the 2030 World Cup, for now, a joint Iberian candidacy (Spain and Portugal) and another South American (Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile) have expressed an explicit interest. (D)