Scotland set to host Euro 2028 matches after Turkey withdraws bid

Scotland is set to host games during the UEFA European Championships in 2028 after Turkey withdrew its bid for the tournament.

The Scottish FA had submitted a joint bid with the rest of the UK and Ireland to co-host Euro 2028, with Hampden Park put forward as the chosen venue.

The joint bid was competing with Turkey to host the finals but it has been confirmed that the Turkish Football Federation has withdrawn to focus on co-hosting the event in 2032 with Italy.

The only other bid to host the 2028 tournament was from Russia – but this was ruled ineligible because of the invasion of Ukraine.

UEFA will award the hosting of both championships on Tuesday, October 10.

A UEFA statement confirmed: “Further to the announcement on July 28 which revealed the desire of the Italian and Turkish FAs to submit a joint bid to stage Euro 2032, the UEFA administration has today written to both associations to confirm that their joint bid has been duly received and will go forward for assessment and consideration by the UEFA Executive Committee.

“As indicated by the FA of Turkiye with its submission of the request for a joint bid, their bid to stage Euro 2028 is consequently withdrawn.

“The award of both tournaments still requires the approval of the Executive Committee at its meeting in Nyon on October 10. The presentations at that meeting will be an important part of the process which will take due consideration of the content of the bid submissions before reaching a decision.”

Hampden Park in Glasgow would be one of the stadiums to host games at the flagship tournament, alongside venues in Cardiff, Dublin, Belfast, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool and London.

When the final bid dossier was submitted in April, SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell revealed Hampden will have an upgrade if the is successful.

However, he added that the exact nature of the improvements was still to be decided.

Maxwell said in an SFA video: “We’re always looking to improve the stadium and that happens alongside Euro 2028.

“Obviously as the stadium owner now, we want to make sure the supporter experience is as good as it can be.

“There will be some additions and improvements that are made as part of the Euro 28 bid and hopefully when we’re successful, we will work out exactly what those will look like.”