Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 May 2022
20. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if her attention was brought to a sporting bodies (details supplied) ongoing situation regarding its 17 executives and committee members to allow Russia to enter a bid for a competition; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22201/22]
View answerThe football associations in the UK and Ireland have lodged an expression of interest to jointly host the UEFA European Championships in 2028. The deadline for preliminary bid submission is likely to be later this year.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Ireland was ready to host a number of matches as part of the 2020 iteration of those championships. This was on foot of a number of years of preparation by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), the Aviva Stadium and a number of Government Departments, co-ordinated and led by my Department. Accordingly, I am well aware of the significance and scale of the tournament and how it could be a very positive experience to jointly host it in 2028. The Department is working closely with the FAI and across government to better evaluate the case for bidding for Euro 2028 and no commitments have been made at this point.
UEFA's deadline for submission of Expressions of Interest to host EURO 2028 and EURO 2032 was 23 March. UEFA confirmed that Expressions of Interest were submitted from UK and Ireland, Turkey, and Russia for EURO 2028 and from Italy, Turkey, and Russia for EURO 2032. The selection of candidates for EURO 2028 and EURO 2032 is a matter for UEFA. In this regard, UEFA issued a statement earlier this week declaring the bid submitted by the Football Union of Russia to host EURO 2028 or EURO 2032 as not eligible.
