UK and Ireland set to be named Euro 2028 hosts after no rival bidders emerge

The UK and Ireland are on the verge of being confirmed as the joint hosts of Euro 2028 after no rival bids were made ahead of Wednesday’s deadline.

The Football Associations of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland only announced their intention to bid for the tournament last month, opting to abandon their campaign for the 2030 World Cup.

They had become increasingly resigned to losing out on the World Cup – with a joint bid from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay currently the favourite – and did not want a repeat of what happened when they were controversially beaten to the 2018 World Cup by Russia.

The bid for Euro 2028, however, had far more support from UEFA and rivals Russia and Turkey have both pulled out of the running.

According to The Times, the UK and Ireland’s bid is the only one that has been made and, barring an unlikely last-minute entry in the next 48 hours, they will be named as joint hosts imminently.

The formal decision will not be announced until April 7 – though that is a year ahead of schedule – while the bid will have until the end of the year to get all the necessary government guarantees.

Russia had been in contention but abandoned their bid following the invasion of Ukraine – and their subsequent ostracisation from the sporting world – while Turkey had been unsuccessful in several previous efforts and did not want to challenge the British and Irish bid.

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They could still put forward a case to host Euro 2032, though Italy are