Scotland and Ireland are to work on a joint bid to host the European championship in 2008, government and football officials announced today. Support for the bid was announced to the Scottish Parliament by First Minister Jack McConnell, after a meeting in Edinburgh with Scottish Football Association (SFA) chief executive David Taylor.
McConnell said Scotland had ruled out hosting the event alone due to UEFA requirements over the stadia, but said a joint bid with Ireland could be "successful and viable."
"We wish to support a joint bid from the SFA and the Football Association of Ireland," McConnell told MSPs. "We shouldn't be over-confident, but I believe that, if we do this right and unite behind the bid, then we can win."
The offer to join Scotland was formally accepted by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) in Dublin on Wednesday. FAI general secretary Brendan Menton said in a statement: "In discussions with the SFA, we concluded that a joint bid by the two associations would have a lot of credibility in European football...If we succeed with our joint bid, Euro 2008 will be a great success, given the enthusiasm for sport in both nations."
McConnell said Scotland's decision to seek help followed a UEFA announcement in November that eight, and not six 30,000-seater stadia would be needed by candidates to host the event. Taylor told the SFA's website that six of the stadia would be in Scotland and two in Ireland.
Ireland's contribution would be Lansdowne Road, plus a new national stadium to be built at Abbotstown in west Dublin. Menton said: "The SFA already have four stadia with capacity in excess of 60,000 and we believe the new National Stadium would be a major factor in bringing part of the tournament to Ireland."
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
