Cabinet will be asked today to support the submission of a bid for the FAI to join those of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to stage the Euro football finals of 2028.
The deadline for the submission of a formal expression of interest is tomorrow with a more detailed bid document to be delivered by April 12th next year.
An announcement of the successful bid is expected next September.
The tournament has been confirmed as being of 24 teams as was the case for the Europe-wide renewal of 2021, postponed a year due to Covid, and of the next tournament in Germany.
Ireland had won the right to stage four games in 2020 but was forced to withdraw because our Covid regulations at the time of the restaging were too restrictive.
The Aviva Stadium will though host the 2024 UEFA Europa League Final.
Reports this morning suggest that the Aviva will once again be central to the Irish part of the bid, alongside Croke Park, with as many as seven games to be staged here.
The minimum stadium size is 30,000 which would not yet exist in Northern Ireland.
UEFA has said that in case of more than two joint host associations, the automatic qualification of all the host teams cannot be guaranteed and shall be subject to a decision to be made in conjunction with decisions concerning the qualifying competition.
There is no hosting fee to be paid as part of the bid but there will be guarantees required on areas such as accommodation, transport, policing and the upgrading of the venues to a UEFA standard. This would already be largely delivered on the Aviva Stadium but would require work at Croke Park.
A move towards the opening up of terraced areas across a number of European Leagues could enable use of Hill 16 without the need for temporary seating though that has yet to be confirmed.
A larger hurdle to be overcome may be the timing of the tournament potentially coinciding with the final stages of the All Ireland Football and Hurling Championships in their new compressed season.
