Major players likely to make bid for Euro 2012

GIVEN their experiences of the last few days the team behind the failed Irish and Scottish campaign for EURO 2008 can be forgiven for not wishing to rush headlong into launching a bid to stage the event in 2012.

They were never favourites to stage the third-largest sporting event in the world behind the World Cup and the Olympic Games.

However, aside from the winners in Vienna and Zurich, losing out to the perceived weaker bids from the Hungarians as well as the Greeks and Turks after scoring so highly in the technical ratings was a bitter pill to swallow.