Updated at 11.50
IT HAS BEEN confirmed that Ireland will host part of Euro 2020, with the Aviva Stadium in Dublin the location for the event.
Consequently, we’ve decided to look ahead to what could possibly lie in store for the successful Irish bid.
So here’s what you need to know…
How many countries will be involved in hosting Euro 2020? 13. The 19 current candidates were…
- Baku Olympic Stadium, Azerbaijan (successful)
- Traktar Stadium, Belarus
- New stadium, Brussels (successful)
- Ovcha Kupel Stadium, Bulgaria
- Parken Stadium, Denmark (successful)
- Wembley Stadium, England (successful, and will host semi-final and final)
- Allianz Arena, Germany (successful)
- New Puskas Ferenc Stadium, Hungary (successful)
- Teddy Stadium, Israel
- Stadio Olimpico, Italy (successful)
- Philip II Arena, Macedonia
- Amsterdam Arena, Netherlands (successful)
- Aviva Stadium, Republic of Ireland (successful)
- Arena Nationala, Romania (successful)
- New Zenit Stadium, Russia (successful)
- Hampden Park, Scotland (successful)
- San Mames Stadium, Spain (successful)
- Friends Arena, Sweden
- Millennium Stadium, Wales
Was there much confidence in the Irish bid succeeding? Yes. The UEFA assessment of the Aviva Stadium was largely positive, with subsequent media reports suggesting Dublin was one of the most well received out of all the entries.
Is the Aviva Stadium the only Irish-based ground that will be used? Yes. Uefa states that each city can only use one venue, while two cities from the same country applying was not permitted in the initial bidding process.
How many matches will the Aviva Stadium host? Ireland applied for the ‘Standard Package,’ meaning they will host four matches — three group stage games and one round of 16 match. The aforementioned UEFA report also states that the minimum capacity for quarter-finals must be 60,000, meaning the Aviva, which can only hold 51,700 people, had to be given a second-round match by default.
Where will non-host teams stay? It’s up to them. They won’t necessarily be required to stay in the host country.
Would Ireland automatically qualify for Euro 2020 as one of the hosts? No, they’ll have to qualify as normal like everyone else irrespective of what happens.
Would Ireland play their matches at home should they qualify? In some cases. A maximum of two host teams can be drawn into each group, with the host teams playing a minimum of two of their three group matches on home turf. Nevertheless, host teams won’t necessarily be playing their knockout matches at home. Furthermore, the draw will be formatted to ensure that should two host teams (the maximum that can be paired together) be drawn in the same group, the travel distance between the two countries in question will be a maximum of two hours.
N.B. A version of this post was published on 9 September prior to Ireland’s bid being accepted.
