Quarter of Euro 2028 games could be held on island of Ireland

Republic of Ireland supporter Peter Gannon from Harold’s Cross in Dublin, with fellow supporters at the Walkinstown Roundabout in Dublin to celebrate the life of Jack Charlton on the day of his funeral in Newcastle, England. Picture: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

The island of Ireland could host as many as a quarter of the games in football's Euro 2028 competition, the Government will be told today.

A memo for information on the joint bid to host the tournament by the FAI and the FAs of Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales will be brought to Cabinet on Tuesday. 

Ministers will be told that between Ireland and Northern Ireland, 25% of the matches in the tournament would be held on the island.

It is understood that Dublin's Aviva Stadium and Croke Park are pencilled in for the bid, but that no decision has been made as yet on whether Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork or any other stadium outside of the capital would be used. 

Government sources said the FAs of the five nations switched focus to hosting Euro 2028 after the sport's governing body was cool on their bid to host the Fifa World Cup in 2030. While Euro 2028 would see Ireland host fewer games overall if Uefa decides on it being a 32-team tournament, it would be a "substantial" number, sources said.

While some feasibility work had been done on the 2030 bid in Ireland, sources said this would transition over to the new bid with ease. The bid is largely seen as being led by the UK, with Ireland as a partner as there is seen to be an appetite for hosting.