The UK and Ireland officially submit bid to host Euro 2028
The bid is set to be unopposed
The UK and Ireland has formally submitted its initial bid to host Euro 2028 to UEFA.
The five associations confirmed in a joint statement issued on Wednesday morning that an 'expression of interest' (EOI) had been filed, which has the support of the governments of the UK, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The EOI submission comes on deadline day for interested parties to confirm their interest to UEFA, with reports earlier this week claiming that the bid was set to be unopposed.
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."
Scottish FA Chief Executive, Ian Maxwell, said: “The confirmation of our joint Expression of Interest to host EURO 2028 alongside our colleagues within the UK and Ireland FAs represents our commitment to continuing the momentum of Scottish football and the Scotland National Teams on the European, international and world stage.
“It is also an early milestone in our new strategic plan, The Power of Football, in aspiring to host major tournaments to showcase Scotland as a world-class football nation and venue, following the successful co-hosting of UEFA EURO 2020 at Hampden Park.
“We will now work with UEFA, our fellow national associations, UK and Scottish Governments and local authorities to present an aspirational bid that will bring significant social and economic benefits to Scotland and to our national game.
“This, in turn, will help deliver on other ambitious objectives across the game and reinforce the power of Scottish football.”
UEFA said that the bidders would be announced on April 5, with the official host announcement set for September 2023 but with no other countries set to come forward, the five-nation bid is set to be confirmed on April 7.
If UEFA does declare the UK and Ireland bid successful, the issue of which countries, if any, qualify automatically will have to be resolved.
UEFA said last October, when it announced the bidding process for 2028: "In order to ensure compatibility with the competition's sporting and commercial format, the automatic qualification of the host team(s) shall be guaranteed only for a single host or a maximum of two joint host associations, as always implemented in the past.
However, with the tournament set to expand, the situation could be reviewed by UEFA.
The bid must contain at least 10 stadiums to host matches, with a minimum capacity of 30,000.
Wembley hosted seven games at Euro 2020, including both semi-finals and the final, whilst Hampden hosted four.