THE UK and Ireland has submitted its final list of ten stadiums to host Euro 2028 – with some shock omissions.
The deadline for applications to host the football tournament is today, with the government already giving the green light for it to go ahead.
Turkey are the rivals to host the iconic competition with the final decision to be made in September.
The Football Associations of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Republic of Ireland have met to thrash out the finer details.
And the lucky ten venues have been chosen under the banner “Football for all. Football for good. Football for the future.”
Big stadiums to miss out are Manchester United’s Old Trafford, West Ham’s London Stadium and Liverpool’s Anfield.
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United legend Gary Neville has slammed the owners the Glazers for letting Old Trafford ‘rust’ and says it need £1BILLION in renovations.
After meeting the FA, United execs pulled the plug on their bid to be a host stadium, despite them having the highest-capacity after Wembley in England.
Meanwhile, SunSport revealed earlier this year that Anfield’s pitch is too SMALL to meet Uefa guidelines and cannot be extended.
England’s capital city London has two hosting venues – Wembley and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Wembley, the national stadium, has a whopping 90,000 capacity to dwarf the other stadia on the list.
It hosted final heartbreak for England at Euro 2020 when Gareth Southgate’s boys were defeated by Italy on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
There were ugly scenes before the game too when fans without tickets piled into the national stadium.
This led to England receiving a two-match stadium ban.
Fortunately that seems to have been forgiven by Uefa chiefs.
Considering Spurs spent £1BILLION on their 62,850-capacity offering, their inclusion could be expected.
Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium (capacity of 53,400), Newcastle’s St James’ Park (52,305), and Everton’s not-yet-built Bramley-Moore Dock stadium (52,888) are the country’s northern choices.
Aston Villa’s Villa Park is doing the Midlands proud and can house 42,640 fans.
Wales will have the 74,500-capacity Principality Stadium, Scotland the iconic Hampden Park that can cater for 51,866 people.
Over the water, Belfast’s Casement Park is selected for Northern Ireland, while the 51,700-capacity Aviva Dublin is the venue for the Republic of Ireland.
The Casement will undergo a huge renovation and feature a bowl-like design to host around 35,000 fans.
And to comply with Uefa rules, the stadia will have to lose their sponsored names – so the Etihad will be renamed ‘The City of Manchester Stadium’, for example.
A statement from the Home Nations bid group read: “The UK and Ireland share a proud reputation as world-leading event destinations which have successfully staged some of the biggest global sporting tournaments – backed by strong government support.
“This includes the recent record-breaking Uefa Women’s Euro 2022.
“We are delighted that our government partners are fully committed to hosting Uefa Euro 2028.
“They have signed the relevant tournament guarantees and will ensure the event is fully supported.
“This will create a welcoming, exciting and safe football experience that players and fans will enjoy in every city and every game.”
It has also been confirmed that THREE MILLION tickets will be available for the tournament – the highest total ever for the Euros.
The bid has been backed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf and Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford, who said it would be the “biggest sporting event our islands have ever jointly staged”.
Sunak added “Football has a habit of creating special memories and in 2028 we want to create new memories for a new generation – across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
“Our bid promises not only world-class stadia, excellent transport links and the world’s best fans but also the opportunity to build a lasting grassroots legacy.
“Euro 2028 would be an incredible showcase of all that the UK & Ireland have to offer and another landmark moment in our proud sporting history. I am immensely proud to be backing the bid.”
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Sunderland’s Stadium of Light and Dublin’s Croke Park were the other locations to miss out.
And there could be some raised eyebrows that Arsenal’s Emirates was not one to be considered either.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
