The final bid for Ireland to co-host Euro 2028 has been submitted today.
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)Junior Sports Minister Thomas Byrne has said while he "pushed hard" for it, Croke Park is not included in Ireland’s joint submission to host Euro 2028.
The football associations of Ireland, the North, England, Scotland and Wales have submitted their final bid to host the games in five years' time.
Junior Minister Byrne has said Dublin was deemed too small to be home to two tournament stadiums, so Croke Park was omitted from the list.
If the bid wins, the Aviva Stadium would be renamed the Dublin Arena to host games, while Casement Park in Belfast, which still has to be renovated, would also be used.
Thomas Byrne has said it was important that Northern Ireland was included in the bid:
"The bid's steering board has put forward our best shot at it. It's not just the south, it's an all Ireland bid with Great Britain as well, so obviously there would have to be some representation of Northern Ireland and Casement Park is deemed to be the best place to do it.
"Now obviously there's substantial work to be done there [and] the British government has given a guarantee in relation to that."
The other stadia include six in England, Hampden Park in Glasgow and the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
It's expected the tournament would raise up to €3 billion for the economies across the two islands, while more than €50 million will be invested in developing football.
