Cabinet to sign off on joint Ireland/UK Euro 2028 bid

James Cox

Ministers will today sign off on a joint bid for Ireland and the UK to host Euro 2028.

UEFA's deadline for formal bids is tomorrow with Government sources confident the pitch will be successful.

Ireland is bidding to co-host Euro 2028 along with England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Minister for Sport Jack Chambers met with colleagues from across the UK and Ireland to discuss the bid last week and will bring a memo to Cabinet alongside Minister Catherine Martin.

That will allow the FAI to submit a preliminary bid along with the other countries.

It's expected Ireland would host seven games between the Aviva Stadium and Croke Park in the event the bid wins.

It's expected the Aviva would require little upgrading, but some work would need to be done to Croke Park.

The memo will outline the economic impact of hosting the tournament, which the Government estimates would attract 120,000 people to Ireland with a boost to the economy in the hundreds of millions of euro range.

Ministers believe there's a strong chance of success, with Turkey the only rivals to host the second-biggest tournament in football.