THE PROPOSED JOINT bid between Ireland and the UK to host Euro 2028 has confirmed that the unbuilt GAA stadium at Casement Park in Belfast is among the 14 stadia on its shortlist of 14 venues.
They must be whittled down to 10 by April 2023, with Dublin’s Croke Park and Aviva Stadium the other two grounds as part of the FAI’s offering.
Northern Ireland’s Windsor Park does not meet the criteria of a minimum 33,000 seats to be among the venues included, with nine stadiums in England making up the majority of the bid.
Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and Glasgow’s Hampden Park are on offer from Wales and Scotland, respectively, and a statement from the five associations hailed the collaborative nature.
“We are delighted that Government Partners of Ireland, the UK, Scotland, Wales, and officials in Northern Ireland, support this bid. Together, we believe we can deliver a world-class tournament, and that hosting UEFA EURO 2028 will achieve a strong and sustainable legacy for football and wider society, helping to drive economic growth in local communities.
“Working with UEFA, our plan is to host a tournament that will be a catalyst for transformational grassroots football development – with a promise to share legacy initiatives with European National Associations to accelerate growth across the continent.
“Ireland and the UK’s track record of hosting successful major sporting events over many decades means we have the expertise and experience to take this world-class tournament to new heights.”
Turkey is the only rival bid in contention.
The full list is as follows:
Aviva Stadium and Croke Park (Dublin), Casement Park (Belfast); Hampden Park (Glasgow); St James’ Park (Newcastle), Stadium of Light (Sunderland), Old Trafford and Etihad Stadium (Manchester), Everton Stadium (Liverpool), Villa Park (Birmingham), Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London Stadium (London); Principality Stadium (Cardiff).
Mostly good news all round. There’ll always be a few niggles so it’ll be great to have more or less a full strength team to pick from come next weekend providing andy farrell lets the teams pick who they want.
Fancy a 23 to look something like
Killer
Scannell
Ryan
Snyman
Kleyn
O mahony
O donoghue
Stander
Murray
Hanrahan
Earls
De Allende
Farrell
Conway
Gallagher
Loughman
Marshall
Knox
Wycherley
O donnell
Casey
Scannell
Daly
@Jim Demps: Would prefer to see Knox in ahead of Ryan from the get go. Beirne and carbery then to come in for kleyn and hanrahan when they are fit.
Hopefully gallagher is the man to add a bit of spark to the fullback position.
@Jim Demps: that’s a strong team. I think the 2 centers are going to rip it up this season.
@Gareth Ward: both you and Jim’s sides are missing an openside. Cj has a very high tackle count as does JOD but both tackle close to the ruck. Neither really help the backline defence out wide.
Another problem without joey is a lack of creativity so smash it up the middle and boxkick will be game plan.
@Chris Mc: Im sure jod can move a few steps to the side. Plenty of turnover treat anyway if o’mahony, stander and beirne are all in the team
@Gareth Ward: turnovers has never been Munsters problem. I’m talking about helping the outside backs defend.
@Chris Mc: it’s grand, we’ll pick up whichever one of the Leinster 7s doesn’t make the big game squads at the end of the season.
For what it’s worth if Tommy can stay fit he’s as good as any of them. If though.
@Jim Demps: when fit Tommy is could but his ceiling is nowhere near Leavy’s
@Jim Demps: I was a big fan of TOD but he’s not really at the highest levels for a while. Hopefully the break will have done him good, recharge the batteries so to speak. Still I don’t think your getting any of leinsters backrows any time soon.
That’s a pity for Beirne but hopefully he’ll still be fit to feature before the end of the club season and for Ireland. He’d potentially be a big loss for Ireland with Ryan injured and would have been expected to see some decent gametime.
There’s a lot of guys on the Munster injury list which is odd considering there has been limited contact training.