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The Irish Government has thrown its hat into the ring to host extra matches in the UEFA European Championship tournament in 2028.
The Irish Independent said the government has lobbied UEFA about the prospect of Ireland hosting the Euro 2028 matches that had been planned for Belfast but now won’t be played there due to the collapse of the Casement Park project.
The UK Government said recently it will not fund the redevelopment of Northern Ireland’s (UK) Casement Park in time for the 2028 European Championship.
Casement Park is the principal Gaelic games stadium in Belfast. The stadium, which has been closed since June 2013, previously had a capacity of approximately 31,500.
The UK’s Northern Ireland Minister Hilary Benn said the cost of rebuilding Casement Park had risen to £400 million ($524.8 million) and the UK Government will not fund the redevelopment because of the risk it would not be built in time.
Belfast was in line to have five matches from the finals in 2028 as part of the joint UK/Ireland bid but the city’s involvement has now been halted.
The Irish Independent further stated that it was expected that Belfast’s matches would be shared out between four venues already down to host games – Dublin, Cardiff, Glasgow and London’s Wembley Stadium – but no decision has been reached by UEFA.
UEFA had initially knocked back the idea of Dublin having two venues, the Aviva Stadium and Croke Park, as they wanted each host city – bar London – to have only one stadium, for security and logistical reasons.
Speaking at the Aviva Stadium, Irish Culture and Sports Minister Catherine Martin said that she would like to see more of the tournament’s matches held on the island of Ireland.
On the prospect of additional Euros games potentially being staged outside of Dublin, she said: “I think that’s ultimately for the stakeholders themselves to decide. But yes, the more that can be held on a wider spread.
“I always talk about regional tourism as well, and looking at the 250,000 people working in tourism, 70% of them are in the regions.”
Hosting games in Cork’s Páirc uí Chaoimh has previously been floated as an idea.
Thomas Byrne, the minister of state with sport as his brief, added, “We want more matches, we’ve expressed a view to UEFA, we want them on a regional basis. I’ve spoken about that before. Our overarching objective is to have more games on the island. There are ongoing discussions with partners about that, but it is their decision at the end of the day.”
Senior figures within the FAI have already expressed their doubts about Cork’s GAA HQ being suitable to host matches at Euro 2028, due to capacity issues and other logistical factors, not to mention a clash with the GAA season in June.
Currently, the seating capacity for the Páirc is 23,000, including the premium level, with the capacity for standing on terraces of a further 24,000, but the limited seating would be a concern.
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