Corcoran confident about Euro 2008 bid

Milo Corcoran, President of the FAI, stated that he is very encouraged at the prospects of the Ireland/Scotland bid winning the right to host Euro 2008 when UEFA makes its final decision on December 12.

"The technical assessment by the UEFA inspectors ranked us equal first with the Swiss / Austrian bid. We have been campaigning hard with the big decision makers across Europe and have received a positive response," he said.

"We welcome the Minister for Sport’s continued strong support and comments. This again emphasises the bids robust potential and the Government's continued commitment."

The bid will be assessed on political consideration, the enthusiasm of the fans, the commercial potential of the tournament and the technical assessment by the UEFA inspectors where the Ireland/Scotland bid has already scored highly.