The Republic of Ireland will almost certainly feature at Euro 2028 whether they qualify or not for the tournament that will be co-hosted in Dublin at the Aviva Stadium.
Northern Ireland, however, must qualify through the usual process after the British government decided not to fund the redevelopment of Casement Park in Belfast within the next four years.
FAI chief executive David Courell has revealed that Uefa intends to reduce the number of stadiums from 10 to nine, as opposed to replacing Casement with a venue in Ireland or the United Kingdom.
“We are having conversations with Uefa but the working assumption is all of us will go through qualification and if we are unsuccessful in qualifying on merit, then there will be automatic slots in reserve but that has yet to be ratified by Uefa,” said Courell.
“I won’t go into the details of it, but what I will say is that we are very confident that we will feature in Euro 2028.
“We will have the benefit of a highly increased likelihood of qualifying if we don’t go through on merit.”
It was initially suggested by Courell’s predecessor Jonathan Hill that three automatic slots would be available to the five host nations. However, with Northern Ireland no longer hosting matches, the plan is for the Republic of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England to play games in host cities like Dublin, Cardiff, Glasgow and London.
Courell confirmed that the Irish Government’s push for either Pairc Ui Chaoimh in Cork or Croke Park to replace Casement is not being considered by Uefa.
Instead, Euro 2028 will be played across nine venues and eight cities with Wembley hosting the final, as they did in 2021.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the second London ground, is joined by the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Hampden Park in Glasgow, The Etihad in Manchester, Everton’s new stadium on Bramley Moore Dock, St James’ Park in Newcastle, Villa Park in Birmingham and the Aviva.
Lansdowne Road will hold four group matches, along with last 16 and quarter-final ties. One of the Belfast games could still be redirected to Dublin.
A redeveloped Casement was the only venue that would keep Northern Ireland as co-hosts as Windsor Park is under Uefa’s required 30,000 capacity.
“We’re keen to see [The IFA] as a partner for this tournament,” Courell added. “They could host a draw, broadcast or training centre, or something. All of these variables are up for discussion.
“The progress is that Uefa have decided that they’d like to fall back to a nine-venue solution. The games due to be hosted in Northern Ireland are due to be distributed across the existing venues within the Euro 2028 tournament plan.
“Obviously, the Republic of Ireland is fighting to get as many as we possibly can. There are limitations on what we can host in the Aviva. Not because it’s not an amazing facility, but we’re already hosting four group games, one last-16 and one quarter-final.
“The schedule needs to plan for adequate rest days for the pitch through the intervening period, plus the machinations of each group. We’ve expressed an interest to host a further two games but I think that is probably a stretch.”
The FAI supported the addition a second Irish venue, Courell said, but Uefa did not consider it a viable alternative.
“I’d just make the point that the FAI were very supportive of a 10th venue being stood up in the Republic of Ireland.
“The Irish Government have been hugely supportive, not only to us, but to attract as much of this tournament as possible to these shores.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t a decision for us. We made those representations but Uefa have decided on a nine-venue solution.”
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