UK and Ireland focused on Euro 2028 bid due to 2030 World Cup ‘uncertainty’

The football associations of the UK and Ireland have switched focus to hosting Euro 2028 after identifying “many areas of uncertainty” around a bid for the 2030 World Cup.

The five governing bodies confirmed on Monday morning that they would throw their hat in the ring for the continental finals, rather than the centenary edition of the World Cup.

Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said both tournaments offered a similar return on investment, but added: “When you look at it for the Euros, we’ve got a very clear bidding landscape and bidding timeline and, when we assess everything for that, we know we can put together a highly-competitive bid.

“I think with the World Cup, there are many areas of uncertainty, in terms of the timeline, in terms of the frequency of the events and so on.”

Euro 2028 would clash with the first biennial World Cup based on the reform plans put forward by the game’s world governing body FIFA, which remain the subject of consultation.

Asked about that potential clash, Bullingham said: “All of the potential changes that FIFA have been proposing or doing a feasibility study on are still up in the air.

“I think we’ve been very clear – we didn’t think biennial World Cups either in men’s or women’s (football) were a good idea and we don’t believe that they will come to fruition.”

Bullingham said the decision to focus on Euro 2028 was not based on any communication from UEFA that it would support a joint Spain-Portugal bid for 2030 over the UK-Ireland bid.

Some critics of any 2030 bid cited the failed solo efforts of England to host the 2006 and 2018 tournaments, and the lack of transparency around FIFA decision-making as a reason not to go for the World Cup again.

However, the voting