Big news for the parish.
Following the absence of a rival bid, it's expected that Britain and Ireland will co-host the 2028 European Championships, which could bring up to 150,000 football fans to the country.
According to RTÉ, the
Government is expected to formally back the Football Association of Ireland's ambition to jointly host Euro 2028 with Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland.
Tomorrow (23rd) is the deadline for national football associations to express their interest in bidding to host the event.
According to the Irish Times, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin was keen for the five associations involved to divert their focus from the 2030 World Cup, where they would have gone up against Spain and Portugal for the European vote,
and instead focus on the 2028 Euros which is expected to increase in size from 24 teams to 32.
In this case, Croke Park would be needed along with the Aviva Stadium for the hosting of matches.
According to RTÉ it is not yet clear how many matches would be played in Ireland and the number of Irish stadiums that would be used. However, it's expected that the Government will provide funding for venues, transport, security and fan zones.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that he would support the FAI bid for Ireland to host the Euro 2028 and said Ireland is "long overdue" to host or co-host a major tournament.
He added that Ireland hosting the tournament would require Government backing, and that investment would be needed in Irish stadiums to ensure they are "up to standard".
He concluded that if Ireland were to host the event, there should also be a dividend for the League of Ireland, local clubs and youth in sport - "Otherwise, it is not worth doing. We need to leverage the opportunity to do that," he said.
Header image via Shutterstock
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