The FAI bid to co-host the Finals of Euro 2028 will be lodged with UEFA today and it is expected to be the only one.
Cabinet signed off yesterday on a letter of broad support and the next stage will be confirmation of the bids preferred status on April 7th followed by eight months or so of hammering out the detail on infrastructure, security, promotion and funding.
Rob Hartnett of Sport for Business joined Matt Cooper on Today FM yesterday, alongside Football writer Kieran Cunningham to discuss the bid and what it would mean.
Government Minister of State Jack Chambers said that no discussion on the cost of staging up to eight potential games had taken place at Cabinet but that the belief was there would be a significant net gain in economic as well as sporting terms.
Up to 150,000 fans could travel to Ireland for the matches delivering a gross spend of up to €600 million.
Upgrades took place at the Aviva Stadium ahead of our ultimately failed staging of the Euro 2020 games and it is likely that investment in Croke Park would be needed to bring the 20-year-old venue up to the latest spec in terms of comfort and technology.
Paying for that out of staging possibly two matches as part of the Finals would be a win-win, even if it did require some shuffling of matches as part of the 2028 GAA Championships.
The idea of this being a distraction from an investment that is needed in the League of Ireland ignores the fact that it is not an either-or situation. The FAI will surround itself with a team of professionals to deliver a great tournament experience and prove Ireland’s credentials as a nation capable of staging the biggest sporting events.
Dublin City Council, the FAI and Titan Experience were lined up to do that last summer before Covid intervened and the template is already there to go again in better circumstances.
There are issues with the size of the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park falling well short of the minimum criteria but there are potential ways that can be found to still deliver benefit for Northern Ireland as part of the bid.
Accelerating the development of Casement Park just across the motorway could be one. Building a temporary stadium outside the stadium where fans could watch on giant screens and still feel (almost) part of the matchday experience could be another left-field notion to create an involvement for Belfast. There is time to explore the options.
Hosting the tournament will raise the spirits of the island. It will deliver a net economic benefit for Ireland’s travel, hospitality, retail and many other sectors that would not otherwise be possible on this kind of scale.
It will create an environment where our largest national stadium can be updated after its 25 years of initial service.
It will put football front and centre stage for a new generation of fans and give them an Irish context in how to express that support.
You have to be able to dream big to achieve the greatest success and that is what this bid represents.
