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The five neighboring UEFA member federations – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland – had been a long-time favourite to win the tournament bid.
ADVERTISEMENTThe United Kingdom and Ireland will host the 2028 European football championship, with Italy and Turkey picked to co-host the tournament in 2032.
Europe’s football governing body UEFA made the decision on Tuesday in Switzerland, after former rival bidders Italy and Turkey formally united under one joint bid during the summer.
That deal took Turkey out of the Euro 2028 contest where the team of five neighboring UEFA member federations – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland – was long favored to win.
The 2028 bid plan has six stadiums in England, led by Wembley Stadium with the club venues of Aston Villa, Manchester City, Newcastle, Tottenham and the under-construction new home of Everton in the docks area of Liverpool.
The national stadiums of Ireland, Scotland and Wales will be used plus a planned new stadium in Belfast at the currently derelict Casement Park.
Euro 2024 in Germany is an increasingly rare example in modern soccer of a single host nation.
UEFA has targeted the Euros of 2024 and 2028 to be high-profit tournaments with revenues at each edition of at least €2 billion. UEFA aims to rebuild its cash reserves above €500 million after being depleted during the pandemic.
Turkey finally gets to host a tournament
Turkey finally will get to host a European Championship after several failed previous bids, including by one vote against France for the Euro 2016 edition.
Turkey also was likely to lose in any contested vote for 2032 even amid doubts Italy could finish a massive construction project to build and upgrade the stadiums needed for a 24-team, 51-game tournament.
UEFA gains stability over the organisation if Italy and Turkey each has to provide just five stadiums despite its own bid rules stating that only neighboring member federations can propose co-hosting.
Rome and Istanbul are separated by about 1,400 kilometres across the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Sea with flights taking more than two hours.
The UEFA picks are not even the most scattered and logistically challenging chosen this month for a major soccer event.
FIFA decided last week to host the 2030 World Cup spread among six countries and three continents.
A European-led bid that started with Spain and Portugal, then added Morocco, now includes Argentina, Paraguay and inaugural 1930 tournament host Uruguay.
Ukraine was included in that project last year but was dropped without a public acknowledgement.
The 2030 bidding deal let FIFA fast-track opening the 2034 bidding contest reserved only for member federations from Asia and Oceania that looks a shoo-in for Saudi Arabia.
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