UK and Ireland to host Euro 2028

London, The Gulf Observer: The United Kingdom and Ireland will host the 2028 European Championship, while Italy and Türkiye will stage the 2032 edition of the tournament, UEFA announced on Tuesday.

By accepting a joint Italy-Türkiye bid for Euro 2032 last week, and with Türkiye withdrawing from the race for Euro 2028, the hosts for both tournaments were already all but assured.

Turkey’s withdrawal from the 2028 race left England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales as the sole joint bidders for that tournament.

Both sets of bids, however, still needed final approval from UEFA’s executive committee that convened on Tuesday.

“Nothing is ever a formality even right until the last minute,” said Debbie Hewitt, chair of the English Football Association (FA). “We took nothing for granted.”

Hewitt said efforts to organise the tournament had united the five soccer associations.

“There’s so many things that you might think might divide, but actually it has really unified,” she said. “I think that will be something that we all feel very proud of.”

Euro 2028 will be the largest major sporting event the UK and Ireland have jointly staged. It will be held in 10 stadia, including Wembley in London, the National Stadium of Wales in Cardiff, Hampden Park in Glasgow and Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.