IRELAND COULD BE in line to host a Euro 2020 match after UEFA confirmed plans for continent-wide tournament in eight years’ time.
An FAI spokesperson last night said that the Association welcomes the decision, which will see the 2020 European Championships spread across a number of cities rather than concentrated in one or two host nations.
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The plan, dubbed “A Euro for Europe” by secretary-general Gianni Infantino yesterday, was first proposed as a way of sharing the high costs of staging the tournament.
The FAI’s strong relationship with UEFA, and the success of the 2011 Europa League final in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, could lead to Ireland being considered as a potential venue for the multi-nation showpiece.
The bidding process for interested cities is due begin in March with a decision likely to be taken in early 2014, giving hosts six years to prepare.
Yesterday’s news brings an end to speculation about the possibility of Ireland, Scotland and Wales banding together to submit a three-way “Celtic” bid. In May the FAI joined the SFA and FAW to submit a preliminary expression of interest, though the move never progressed to the formal bid stage.
Azerbaijan and Georgia also expressed interest as co-hosts, while Turkey’s bid snagged when UEFA President Michel Platini said he would not approve it if Istanbul also won the race to stage the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Previously Platini said that the 2020 tournament, which marks the 60th anniversary of the competition, could involve as many as “12 or 13 cities across Europe.”
France 2016 will be the first Championships following UEFA’s decision to expand from 16 teams to 24. The 51 matches — 20 more than at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine — will be played across 10 host cities in June and July 2016.
FAI welcomes UEFA's 2020 vision
IRELAND COULD BE in line to host a Euro 2020 match after UEFA confirmed plans for continent-wide tournament in eight years’ time.
An FAI spokesperson last night said that the Association welcomes the decision, which will see the 2020 European Championships spread across a number of cities rather than concentrated in one or two host nations.
The plan, dubbed “A Euro for Europe” by secretary-general Gianni Infantino yesterday, was first proposed as a way of sharing the high costs of staging the tournament.
The FAI’s strong relationship with UEFA, and the success of the 2011 Europa League final in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, could lead to Ireland being considered as a potential venue for the multi-nation showpiece.
The bidding process for interested cities is due begin in March with a decision likely to be taken in early 2014, giving hosts six years to prepare.
Yesterday’s news brings an end to speculation about the possibility of Ireland, Scotland and Wales banding together to submit a three-way “Celtic” bid. In May the FAI joined the SFA and FAW to submit a preliminary expression of interest, though the move never progressed to the formal bid stage.
Azerbaijan and Georgia also expressed interest as co-hosts, while Turkey’s bid snagged when UEFA President Michel Platini said he would not approve it if Istanbul also won the race to stage the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Previously Platini said that the 2020 tournament, which marks the 60th anniversary of the competition, could involve as many as “12 or 13 cities across Europe.”
France 2016 will be the first Championships following UEFA’s decision to expand from 16 teams to 24. The 51 matches — 20 more than at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine — will be played across 10 host cities in June and July 2016.
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