No clarity on automatic Euro 2028 qualification spots for hosts 

All five nations will participate in the normal qualification process during 2027, with two places reserved for nations who don’t secure their spots by finishing in the top two.

UNITED FRONT: Representatives from the host countries, including Shamrock Rovers player and Republic of Ireland underage international Ade Solanke, third from right, and former Welsh international, Gareth Bale. Picture: INPHO/UEFA/Kristian Skeie

Uncertainty still surrounds the criteria to be applied for automatic hosting places at Euro ’28 if Ireland don’t clinch qualification on the pitch.

Today’s confirmation at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland of Ireland and UK staging the 24-team showpiece was a formality but clarity on the golden tickets may not be forthcoming for over a year.

The plan is for all five nations – England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland – to participate in the normal qualification process during 2027, with two places reserved for nations who don’t secure their spots by finishing in the top two.

Where technicalities arise is if more fall into category. Noel Mooney, the Limerickman in charge of the Wales FA, suggested results from that Euro qualification alone would be decisive but his Irish counterpart Jonathan Hill was more circumspect.

That element of the equation formed part of the final submission which UEFA’s executive committee approved.

Aviva Stadium is to host six matches; four group, one last-16 and a quarter-final, with the disused Casement Park Belfast lined up for five should delays and funding challenges be addressed.

“From the proposal side, we would say the ranking in the group,” Mooney said about the determining criteria, unsure if that extends to the previous Nations League series.

“Our concept would be that it’s performance throughout the tournament. If you go back a couple of years ago, we were really strong in FIFA’s rankings.

“Wales was 17 and if we had gone with the proposal a couple of years ago, we would have been in a really strong position.

“That felt a bit unfair, really, as it’s historic. It’s fairer to have it on how we perform in that period of time.

“We are united in the bid about what we think is the right way but it’s up to UEFA to decide.” Hill said: “I have an opinion but I'm going to wait for UEFA to voice theirs and we'll all be part of the debate.

"We didn't talk about that in our presentation today. That was encapsulated in the bid documentation. UEFA had to award the hosting before they went away to talk about the implications for five nations .” 

Another topic up in the air is the viability of having Casement Park available.

Antrim’s GAA headquarters was submitted along with the six English venues, Glasgow, Cardiff and Dublin but estimated costs for the rebuild are rocketing towards €200million and there’s disagreement over who is to foot the bill.

“We're expecting that we will play a full part in this tournament all the way through,” asserted Northern Ireland chief executive Patrick Nelson.

“Planning permission is in place for Casement and we have assurances from the UK Government that the funding will be made available.

“We have a great relationship with the GAA at Ulster Council level. Brian McEvoy and I speak on a regular basis on all sorts of things. We work on other projects apart from this. The funding of the stadium is primarily a matter for them but we have got assurances from the Government that funding will be made available, so that's what we have relied upon.

“Today’s hosting of the five nations brings the project into sharp focus. We have already been working with the GAA and government on this, and the other national associations, for a number of years and we're comfortable with the timeframe at the moment. Let's see what happens over the next few months.”