LAST UPDATE | 7 Feb 2022
THE FAI AND their counterparts at the Football Associations of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have abandoned a putative bid to co-host the 2030 World Cup and will bid to stage the 2028 European Championships instead.
The change of direction had been reported in recent weeks, and was confirmed in a statement from the FAI issued this morning.
The decision comes at the end of a feasibility study into a potential World Cup bid, which concluded that the Euros was a better bet, having considered analysis of the economic impact, the political football landscape and likely costs of hosting major international tournaments.
The FAI say a Euros bid would offer a similar return on investment on a “far lower delivery cost” with “the potential of the benefits being realised sooner.”
Speaking to the media today, FAI CEO Jonathan Hill confirmed there have been conversations with the GAA during the initial World Cup feasibility study, and that the Aviva Stadium and Croke Park are both under consideration as venues. The bid is still awaiting clarification as to whether the competition will be a 24-team or a 32-team tournament, and also awaiting clarification as to how many automatic qualifying places will be assigned to co-hosts. The 24-team format assigns two automatic qualifying places to the hosts.
As it stands, Northern Ireland do not have a stadium of sufficient size to host a game at the tournament, with any potential hosting opportunities most likely hinging on the potential redevelopment of Casement Park.
All bids must be submitted to Uefa by the end of March, with those in contention to be announced on 5 April. The successful bid will be announced by Uefa in September 2023.
