Russia have declared an interest in rivalling Ireland and the UK for the right to host Euro 2028 despite their ban from international football.
Russian clubs and national teams are suspended by UEFA and FIFA over the country’s invasion of Ukraine, pending the outcome of an appeal by the Football Union of Russia to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. However, that has not stopped the union’s executive committee giving its backing for a bid for 2028 and 2032, with the deadline for expressions of interest set for Wednesday.
A post on the union’s official website outlined a number of results from Wednesday’s executive committee meeting which included to “support the decision to declare interest in hosting the European Championship 2028 or 2032 in Russia”. Meanwhile, Turkey are also believed to have submitted an application with UEFA to host Euro 2028.
Reports from Russia had earlier quoted an executive committee member, Sergey Anokhin, indicating an interest in bidding for the tournaments. Sport Express said that along with the UK and Ireland, there was also a bid from Turkey and a joint one from Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia.
Russia successfully hosted the 2018 World Cup but has been exiled from the international sports community since its invasion of Ukraine a month ago, with UEFA having already stripped St Petersburg of hosting rights for this season’s men’s Champions League final. The five associations leading the UK and Ireland bid submitted a formal expression of interest (EOI) to UEFA on Wednesday.
The statement confirming the EOI pointed out the five-nation bid’s capability to host a 32-team finals, should UEFA opt to increase the number of teams from the current 24. The intention to bid for Euro 2028 was announced on February 7, after a feasibility study concluded that targeting the continental finals carried greater certainty than a bid for the 2030 World Cup, which had been under consideration.
A joint statement from the five associations read: “With this unique partnership, we are taking the appropriate next steps and our ambition is to stage a successful UEFA Euro which will be a wonderful celebration of football for fans and teams.We believe Euro 2028 would be one of the greatest sporting events ever held in the UK and Ireland.
“This unprecedented partnership of five associations offers something special to European football, including the potential for an expanded tournament, and we are passionate about maximising the sustainability and legacy benefits for communities across the UK and Ireland.
“Over the coming months, we will develop our proposals further, subject to the publication by UEFA of the full technical specification. This includes engaging in discussions with possible host cities and stadia to define the optimum tournament model and conducting a full costs and benefits analysis. The UK and Ireland will offer an unrivalled tournament from a technical perspective – with modern, well-connected stadia and excellent infrastructure – that makes our partnership ideal to host Euro 2028.”
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