St James’ Park could get the chance to host a European Championship game for the first time since 1996.
Newcastle’s home stadium has been placed on a list of 10 potential grounds that could be used for Euro 2028 if the UK bid is successful. Other names on the list include the likes of Wembley, Hampden Park, Principality Stadium and the Etihad.
Originally the hope was that the UK would be able to host the 2030 World Cup, but after plans for that were abandoned, it was announced that a Euro 2028 bid was more likely to be successful.
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It has been 27 years since the cathedral on the hill welcomed some of Europe’s biggest stars. Semi-finalists France graced the pitch on two occasions – a 1-0 victory over Romania and a 3-1 victory over Bulgaria – while the other fixture saw Bulgaria win 1-0 against Romania.
Hristo Stoichkov, who scored twice, Gheorghe Hagi and Zinedine Zidane are just some of the iconic names who played in front of the Gallowgate End.
Over 20,000 international fans were expected to arrive at Newcastle Airport for three of Group B’s fixtures. The city was well prepared with a Euro 96 festival and a Brown Ale Welcome Village with bars, food outlets and TV screens to watch all of the games.
However, there was an underwhelming number of fans who actually arrived in the North East, meaning St James’ Park was far from full on all three occasions. Tickets were even being given away for free at one point.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment, however, was for the locals with Aimé Jacquet’s omission of David Ginola in the French squad. The winger had just enjoyed a great season for the Magpies under Kevin Keegan, despite losing the league title to Manchester United.
But that French squad was full of talented stars – Marcel Desailly, Lillian Thuram and Laurent Blanc to name a few. Football fans throughout the city will be hoping to once again see some of the world’s greatest players on Tyneside, although with Newcastle challenging for Champions League, they may not have to wait quite so long.
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