WATCH: FAI CEO Jonathan Hill: 'This is an important day for Irish football'
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FAI CEO Jonathan Hill believes 'this is an important day for Irish football' as the final Ireland & UK bid to host the 2028 Euros was officially submitted on Wednesday afternoon.
Should the bid be successful, Ireland will host a number of games at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and the newly refurbished Casement Park in Belfast. But there won't be any fixtures held at Croke Park, which joins Anfield and Old Trafford on the list of notable omissions.
On submitting the five partner bid to host UEFA EURO 2028, FAI CEO Jonathan Hill said: "This is an important day for Irish football and the FAI as we submit our formal bid to co-host UEFA EURO 2028 alongside our colleagues in Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales.
"This is the next step in our bid to host the 2028 European Championships and we are delighted to get to this point. I want to thank everyone involved as this is the culmination of months and years of hard work.
"We have submitted a really competitive bid, we have outlined our vision to UEFA as to why we believe Ireland can be a brilliant co-host for EURO 2028 and why the Aviva Stadium will be a fantastic venue and it is all very positive."
On the prospect of hosting games at the Dublin Arena in 2028, Hill added: "The Aviva Stadium is rightfully recognised as a world-class venue with a proven track record in delivering major events.
"From a football perspective, just look at the atmosphere for the recent EURO 2024 qualifier against France and we can only imagine what it would be like if Ireland were to play a EURO 2028 fixture there.
"The Dublin Arena as it is known in the bid is the home of Irish football, it is a stadium we are proud of and one we will gladly show off to the world in 2028 as a showcase of Ireland’s rich football history and sporting heritage.
"In all major bid processes, you start with a short list of stadia, and this is whittled down to a final agreed list in order to give the bid the best chance of success and reflects the streamlined nature of the tournament.
"This bid started with 14 Stadia, and we now have our agreed final 10 which have been submitted. The Bid, with the exemption of London, is based on a ‘one city, one stadia’ principle and together we believe the list offers an array of superb stadia from across the UK and Ireland."
What a successful bid would mean for the FAI, Irish Football and for the country the FAI CEO said: "We outlined in our FAI Strategy 2022-2025 our desire to host and qualify for major international events. We already have the UEFA Europa League final coming to Dublin in 2024 and we are very confident that we have submitted an exciting and impactful bid to UEFA today.
"We are committed to a legacy across socio-economic benefits and a legacy for grassroots football across our five nations. The Irish economy will benefit by approximately €240million, verified by Deloitte, and the interest in football will be greater than ever.
"This will only support our plans to grow the game and will act as a catalyst as we seek to finance infrastructure across all levels of Irish football, from Grassroots to League of Ireland.
"Our hope is to welcome football fans from Europe and across the world to Dublin for a number of great games in 2028 and that is a really exciting prospect for all of us.
"The tournament will also help create positive long-term community impact through volunteering, tourism and other training opportunities that provide people with skills for life."
On support from Government, Dublin City Council and other stakeholders Hill concluded: "We are delighted to have got to this point and thank everyone who has got us here including our own FAI staff. I particularly want to thank An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, Tánaiste Micheal Martin TD, Ministers Catherine Martin TD and Thomas Byrne TD and their colleagues, Dublin City Council, the GAA and the officials at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
"Their commitment has been total on a journey that began with a potential bid for a 48 team FIFA World Cup and which transformed into a really focused and detailed bid for a 24 team UEFA EURO 2028 with the Aviva Stadium at the heart of this bid. This is another hugely important step forward for the transformation of the FAI and Irish football."