UEFA’s executive committee is expected to give the green light to the five-nation bid, which faces no opposition after Turkey last week withdrew from its joint bid with Italy for Euro 2032.
The tournament will take place in June and July 2028, exactly seven years after England and Scotland hosted matches of the revamped tournament, which was held across Europe.
Normally, all nations participating in the tournament would be assigned a spot in the final; however, as in Euro 2020, due to the large number of countries involved, it is believed that all five will have to qualify. That would be welcome from the FA, who need England to remain competitive during the qualification process.
Ten stadiums were included in the bid across the United Kingdom and Ireland, submitted in April. Six are in England, one each in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The six in England are Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Etihad Stadium, St James’ Park, Villa Park and Everton’s new home at Bramley-Moore Dock.
The redeveloped Casement Park in Belfast, the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Hampden Park in Glasgow and the Principality Stadium in Cardiff make up the four.
Noel Mooney, chief executive of the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and a former UEFA executive, said: “It’s very collegial. We presented what we all needed. It’s the candidacy that goes ahead. . . For us, we need to have organization games and some games after that.
“I think we’re in the hunt for four, five or six games. We would be satisfied and I think some of the other federations would be satisfied as well. “
Even with Turkey in the race, all five nations offer the clear favourite.
UEFA’s top officials are under pressure over the importance of hosting the European Championship in a primary football market, following next year’s tournament in Germany, as European football’s governing body looks to further fill its reserves following the financial surprise of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The five countries issued a joint statement last week after Turkey’s withdrawal, saying they had a “compelling” and “innovative” proposal for UEFA to consider, which would leave a “lasting legacy” for Ireland and the UK.
However, there are still some major issues that want to be resolved if the UK and Ireland are accepted through the ExCo.
For starters, Casement Park is being dismantled and the Gaelic Athletic Association’s (GAA) plans to rebuild it to a capacity of 34,000 people have been embroiled in controversy and plagued by delays.
Casement’s assignment has been delayed due to a number of demanding legal situations and is confused by the lack of a functioning executive in Stormont, Northern Ireland’s parliament.
Redevelopment has also been affected by emerging costs, with an initial value projected almost a decade ago of £77. 5 million now well above £100 million.
The GAA is partly an investment; the task has yet to reach an agreement with Stormont on how to close a multi-billion dollar deficit.
Wembley will host the final in 2028, the first test for the 90,000-seat venue after the chaos surrounding hosting the Euro 2020 final.
Football Association president Debbie Hewitt said in June: “One of the things I’m sure the UEFA executive committee will ask us is: ‘How can you guarantee us that no one is going to attack the turnstiles with a typhoon?’
“We want to convince both members of the Executive Committee that we not only have an idea about it, but that we have planned it, that we know what we would do, in what order and who is to blame. for it. “
England manager Gareth Southgate said it was a “brilliant opportunity” for the nations involved, adding: “They will be hugely proud to be hosts and if the groups also qualify, then it is clear that the home side have the merit of hosting as well. “
Although several of the proposed stadiums will be able to hold more than 60,000 fans until 2028, Mooney believes Wembley will be the focal point of the conclusion of Euro 2028.
“The UK is at the forefront of security and intelligence. Euro 2020 is a tricky day in terms of safety for many people. It’s a surprise because they’re very smart at handling those events,” he said.
“I would say this is an isolated case in this component of the global and knowing what has been done with the report, which has been generated and implemented, all those things are going in the right direction. You can never make it safe enough, and I know we’re going to have a fantastic security proposition.
“You’re looking at a tournament to attract so many people to the games. It’s about having access to this excellent special tournament, that’s the principle we follow and on that basis, Wembley have another 90,000 people. “
“Why would you refuse tens of thousands of people to attend a European Championship final for political reasons?I think we deserve to try and bring as many people as possible to the games. “
Kaveh Solhekol, chief reporter at Sky Sports News:
“The UEFA Executive Committee has obtained assurances from the FA that there will be no repeat of the shameful scenes we experienced at Wembley during the Euro 2020 final.
“Everyone who was there that day will realize how impactful the experience was. There was very little security, so many other people seemed to have access to the stadium without tickets. An official report revealed that it was essentially a miracle that no one lost. their lives.
“The FA say they have learned lessons and nothing like that will happen again. UEFA has confidence in the FA, having passed them the Champions League final at Wembley at the end of this season.
“It’s only the FA that has questions to answer because everyone has noticed what happened in the last two Champions League finals in Paris and Istanbul.
“I was there and a lot of fans, especially Liverpool and Manchester City, said they surely had no religion in UEFA and would no longer need to attend the primary matches organised through them.
“There are only questions that the FA wants to answer, but also serious questions that UEFA and its executive committee want to answer about whether they are compatible to host primary and final tournaments. “