Tomorrow is the deadline for submission of bids to stage the Euro 2028 Championship Finals and it appears almost certain that the only contender will be the joint bid from the FAI, together with the Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh Football Associations.
Provisional confirmation of the success of the bid could then come as early as April 7th, with a period of around six months given over to secure the necessary guarantees on taxation, security access and other areas from the respective governments.
The thorniest of these from a British perspective might be guarantees on freedom of access and movement now that it is outside the European Union but there are not expected to be any major blockages.
The Irish government is expected to give formal approval for the bid after today’s cabinet meeting, and it promises to be a busy period then in terms of determining match venues and so much more.
Much of the work, particularly in terms of the relationships that need to be nurtured across government departments, local authorities and emergency services can be revisited from the successful bid to stage four games in Euro 2020, even though they were originally lost to Covid.
There were thought to be three other serious bids being considered. Russia is obviously a non-runner now and it appears that Italy will step down in order to strengthen its position for 2032. Turkey was the other thought likely to bid but it appears they will also decline on the basis of gaining European backing to stage a future World Cup.
It is considered likely that the Aviva Stadium and Croke Park would be part of the hosting with the possibility of a redeveloped Casement Park in Belfast also in the mix, though the timeline on that is tight.
The tournament is expected to be expanded from 24 teams to 32 which would ease concerns over the host nations failing to qualify.
The five hosts are currently ranked with England at 3, Wales at 13, Scotland at 20, the Republic of Ireland at 25 and Northern Ireland at 26.
