The decision on the hosting of Euro 28 and Euro 32 will be revealed in a live feed from UEFA headquarters in Switzerland today with the announcement getting underway from 11 AM Irish time.
There will no doubt be a substantial preamble but by lunchtime we should be started on the journey of getting ready to host the continents best footballers, and hundreds of thousands of fans to Dublin and Belfast for games at the Aviva Stadium and the redeveloped Casement Park.
It will not be easy and there will be arguments that the energy going into the staging should be diverted to more ‘on the ground’ benefits through redeveloped League of Ireland facilities.
Sport is rarely if ever a zero sum game off the field of play though and the energy and profile of staging the Finals here will in itself create a halo effect that can benefit not only every strand of football but of sport and society here.
The benefits of Italia ’90 have become shrouded in ‘good time’ history but extend in some eyes to the creation of the celtic Tiger, and while that did not end well, look around at the benefits it left the country and where we are now compered to Ireland in the 1980’s.
Sport has the power to gather people around, make them feel better, and create new opportunities that go way beyond the lines of the pitch.
We are seeing it with our Rugby team in France at the moment. What else gathers us in unity like a major sporting event. Imagine now if that had been, as it could have been, taking place in Ireland.
Today we could get the opportunity to see what that is like, and it is one that should be grasped for all the positives it will bring.
