The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland will be announced as hosts of the 2028 European Championships at a UEFA meeting in Switzerland on Tuesday.
The five-nation bid is now running unopposed after Turkey withdrew from the process last week.
Turkey joined its Euro 2032 bid with Italy in July and will be confirmed as co-hosts for that tournament.
Both bids are unopposed, but must still be officially approved by UEFA.
“These are exciting times and we have a very compelling Euro 2028 proposal for UEFA,” said last week’s joint statement from the five national associations of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
“Our bid will be ground-breaking for the Men’s European Championship and will leave lasting legacies across Britain and Ireland.”
The 2028 tournament’s matches will be held at 10 different grounds, including Glasgow’s Hampden Park, Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, Dublin’s Aviva Stadium and Wembley in London.
Belfast’s Casement Park and Everton’s Bramley-Moore Dock, the former not yet built while the latter is still under construction, are also included in the bid.
The Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales have never hosted a major tournament.
England, along with Scotland, were one of eleven countries to host the 2020 European Championship, and were also the sole hosts of the 1966 World Cup and the 1996 European Championship. England also hosted the record-breaking 2022 European Women’s Championships.
Wembley is expected to host the final in 2028, a major test for the 90,000-capacity venue after the chaos surrounding hosting the Euro 2020 final.
A review of the disorder at the final found that ‘ticketless, drunk and drugged thugs’ could have caused death when they stormed the stadium.
Britain and Ireland focused on a bid for Euro 2028, with UEFA approval, as they ended a plan to be Europe’s preferred candidate for the 2030 World Cup.
While Italy had only bid for the 2032 tournament, Turkey had applied to host both Euro 2028 and Euro 2032 and waited last week for their joint bid with Italy to be approved before withdrawing from the fight for Euro 2028 to organise.
Turkey hosted the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul in June, but the country has never hosted a major international tournament.
Reigning European champions Italy hosted the European Championships in 1968 and 1980, while the Stadio Olimpico in Rome was also used as the venue for the 2020 European Championships.
Germany will host the 2024 edition of the tournament, with the final championships to be played in 2021 instead of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Great Britain and Ireland Euro 2028 host stadiums
1. Wembley Stadium (London) (capacity 90,652)
2. Principality Stadium (Cardiff) (73,952)
3. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (London) (62,322)
4. Etihad Stadium (Manchester) (61,000)
5. Everton Stadium (Liverpool) (52,679)
6. St. James’ Park (Newcastle) (52,305)
7. Villa Park (Birmingham) (52,190)
8. Hampden Park (Glasgow) (52,032)
9. Aviva Stadium (Dublin) (51,711)
10. Casement Park (Belfast) (34,500)
Originally published by bbc.co.uk on October 9, 2023. SOURCE