We don’t want to tempt fate but football might actually be coming home, or at least the tournament itself might be.
The latest news from UEFA seems to suggest that UK and Ireland’s Euro 2028 bid will be unopposed.
As per Sky Sports, the European football commission was informed by the UK’s main rivals to host the tournament in Italy and Turkey have now asked for their bids for Euro 2032, leaving Britain and Ireland as the only remaining candidate.
With Italy and Turkey joining forces to make their bid for the next European Championships stronger, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as the Republic of Ireland, will be the sole bidders and are expected to be named as the official tournament holder later this year.
Confirmed in an official statement on Friday, 28 July, UEFA said that the process of both accepting Turkey and Italy as joint hosts and confirming the UK and Ireland will be finalised on 10 October.
We’re already counting down the days. Only 1,770 to go…
The @FIGC 🇮🇹 and the @TFF_Org 🇹🇷 have requested to merge their individual bids into a joint bid to host #EURO2032.
If compliant with the requirements, it will be submitted to the UEFA Executive Committee on 10 October, where the appointments for 2028 and 2032 will be made: ⬇️
— UEFA (@UEFA) July 28, 2023
As detailed in the statement, the governing body states that “UEFA will now work with FIGC [the Italian Football Federation] and TFF [the Turkish Football Federation] to ensure that the documentation to be submitted for their joint bid is compliant with the bidding requirements.
“If the joint bid does comply with such requirements, it will be submitted to the UEFA Executive Committee at the meeting scheduled on 10 October, where the appointments for 2028 and 2032 will be made.”
Neither the FA nor any other UK countries are yet to issue a response to the update but had already promised to deliver a “record-breaking tournament with more tickets than ever before to grow a more diverse and inclusive game” under the slogan: “Football for all. Football for good. Football for the future.”
They will no doubt be thrilled to hear that their Euro 2028 bid has effectively been placed in their hands as a result of Turkey and current champions Italy’s reassessment, meaning the UK will be the first nation to a host the new 24-team Euros. Although, one iconic English stadium isn’t on the list of venues.
Featured Image — Harry Kane (via Instagram)
