Scottish Football Association to explore Hampden redevelopment

The Scottish Football Association will holds talks with government over the potential redevelopment of Hampden as part of its joint bid to stage Euro 2028.

The five football federations across the UK and Ireland have confirmed they will push ahead with a bid to co-host the European Championship finals and abandon similar plans to stage the 2030 World Cup.

The football authorities expect to get the backing of the various governments in the coming weeks ahead of the March 23 deadline to register their intention to bid with UEFA.

Hampden has staged European finals in its current form and has about 50,000 seats but the viewing experience for fans in the lower areas of stands behind both goals is not optimal.

The SFA took ownership of the national stadium from Queen’s Park 18 months ago and is keen to improve it.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: “The stadium piece is an important one for us, there’s no doubt about that, and we need to look at exactly what hosting a Euro in 2028 can bring in terms of the development of Hampden.

“We are very much focused on developing Hampden and we need to engage with the Scottish Government primarily to see what hosting a Euro can help with in that regard.”

France used 10 stadiums in 2016 before Euro 2020 was spread across Europe, but the size of the tournament could be extended so no decisions have been made on venues.

UEFA normally requires a minimum capacity of 30,000, which could leave Ibrox, Celtic Park and possibly BT Murrayfield in the running to stage games in Scotland.

When asked whether the SFA had held any talks with its rugby counterparts over the potential of using the 67,000-seat stadium in Edinburgh, Maxwell said: “We are not sure about venues in each country, that will