UK and Ireland joint bid for Euro 2028 ‘could be scuppered’ as ex-FA chief says it will be ‘miracle’ if stadium is ready
THE UK and Ireland's joint bid for Euro 2028 is in crisis mode due to Casement Park needing "a miracle" to be ready in time.
The venue, located in Belfast, is threatening to drag the joint UK/Ireland Euro 2028 bid down, with Uefa unconvinced about redevelopment plans for the site.
Work on a proposed 34,578-seater arena for the home of Antrim GAA is due to start next year, but securing the funds for its redevelopment has proved to be a challenge.
Uefa have raised concerns that temporary stands could be required at Casement Park for the Euro 2028 tournament, describing it as a significant stumbling block.
Casement Park is the only stadium from Northern Ireland included in a list of 14 venues across the UK and Ireland.
But ex-Irish FA president and former Fifa vice president Jim Boyce says it will be a tough task for it to be ready to host games at Euro 2028.
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Boyce told The Irish Sun: "While Northern Ireland are joining in the bid to host Euro 2028 with England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, the chances of Casement Park being ready are slim. There is little chance.
"The government in Northern Ireland are not even meeting at the minute, the money hasn’t been released, there hasn’t been a brick laid at Casement Park.
"My honest opinion is that it would take a miracle for Casement Park to be available for European Championship matches to be played in 2028."
Boyce fears there will no matches in Northern Ireland if the bid to host the tournament is successful, instead believing Belfast will have to settle for warm-up games.
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Boyce added: "It is not realistic (that Casement Park will be built by Euro 2028).
"I hope the bid is successful, I’m all for the bid taking place.
"But I think all Northern Ireland can hope for is some preparation games being played in Northern Ireland."
Boyce previously backed plans for a new £300million international sports stadium at the former Maze Prison site, but the scheme failed amid political fallout.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Boyce insists not building a showpiece stadium for football, rugby and GAA at the site to hold 40,000 or 50,000 spectators was "a very big missed opportunity."
He said: "When I was President of the Irish Football Association I always felt that Northern Ireland should have had a stadium big enough to host events like European Championships.
"There was a possibility that could have been the Maze Stadium.
"I was told by the Government at the time that if you wanted a stadium that held 40,000 or 50,000 people it had to be at the Maze Stadium and nowhere else.
"But politics played a large part in Northern Ireland at that time and it fell through.
"Now we are in a situation that we don’t have a stadium in Northern Ireland to host an event such as we are talking about.
"I think the Maze Stadium was a very big missed opportunity."
Windsor Park – the home of football in Northern Ireland – was not selected for the bid as its capacity is just 18,500, well under the Uefa’s minimum requirement for European Championships games.
The 14 stadiums on the list would be whittled down to ten for the 24-team tournament.
UEFA QUESTIONS
Uefa has sent a lengthy list of questions to the UK and Irish bid after the submission of their preliminary dossier last month.
Euro footie chiefs are also growing frustrated over delays in agreeing guarantees around policing, airports, tax exemptions and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The issue with Tottenham’s stadium is in relation to naming rights.
Uefa’s rules insist on a "clean", unbranded venue and insiders at European football’s governing body say an agreement has yet to be reached with the club.
But all is good with the Aviva Stadium which will be known as the Dublin Stadium for the competition.
Uefa have made it clear that the issues with the 2028 bid need to be resolved quickly, with the final dossier due to be submitted in April.
On the issues with the UK/Ireland push, a bid spokesman said: "Following the submission of the UK and Ireland preliminary bid to Uefa in November, we are working through the next phase of the process, including fully responding to Uefa’s follow-up questions."
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However, the bid - due to take place in September - faces competition from Turkey in the Uefa vote.
It is understood Turkey has signed off all of its guarantees already, while Uefa had far fewer issues with the Euro 2024 hosts, Germany, than the UK and Irish bid.
