Croke Park, the Aviva Stadium and Casement Park are the three Irish stadiums included on the shortlist for Ireland and the UK’s bid to host the 2028 Uefa European Championship, the countries’ Football Associations said on Wednesday.
The Aviva is the home of Ireland’s rugby and football teams, while Croke Park (also in Dublin) is the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association with a capacity of 82,300. Antrim GAA has planning permission to rebuild Casement Park in Belfast, with work due to start next year on a proposed 34,578 seater arena.
Wembley Stadium, which hosted last year’s Euro 2020 final, is one of three London stadiums included along West Ham United’s London Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the 14-strong list to be whittled down to 10 by next April.
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Anfield, home of Liverpool and one of the world’s most famous football grounds, misses out, with the proposed Everton Stadium, which will replace Everton’s current home Goodison Park, the stadium from the city of Liverpool preferred. Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium and Manchester United’s Old Trafford are both included.
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“Working with Uefa, our plan is to host a tournament that will be a catalyst for transformational grassroots football development – with a promise to share legacy initiatives with European national associations to accelerate growth across the Continent,” the joint association statement read.
“The UK and Ireland's track record of hosting successful major sporting events over many decades means we have the expertise and experience to take this world-class tournament to new heights.”
The Euro 2020 final at Wembley on July 11th, in which Italy beat England after a penalty shoot-out, was marred by clashes between supporters and officials in and around the stadium, with ticketless fans breaching security cordons.
Full list of stadiums
Aviva Stadium (Dublin)
Croke Park (Dublin)
Casement Park (Belfast)
St James’ Park
Stadium of Light
Etihad Stadium
Old Trafford
Everton Stadium
Villa Park
London Stadium
Wembley Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Hampden Park (Glasgow)
Principality Stadium (Cardiff)
