THE FAI's top brass Jonathan Hill has said that the Irish and UK joint 2028 European Championships bid could bring the country together.
Hill believes the venture that consists of England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland could only be a good thing for Irish football despite the money being touted.
FAI CEO Jonathan Hill on EURO 2028 bid
"One of the core tenets of our Strategy is to unite the country in relation to football and I can't think of anything more inspirational than hosting the third largest sporting event in the world."#EURO2028 | #WeAreOne | #WeAre100 pic.twitter.com/s9JozbJua7— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) February 7, 2022
"One of the core tenets of our strategy moving forward and the vision is to unite the country in relation to football,” Hill told FAI TV.
“I can't think of anything more inspirational than the possibility of hosting the third largest sporting event in the world.
"We are committed with the other four F's to now look at that process and we have a period up to March 23 for us to express our interest in doing so.
“We're very excited by the news this morning. It has wider economic and social benefits.
“There is a whole range of positive outcomes that we will have in relation to inward tourism, employment and the use of local volunteers etc.
“We are working with the Irish Government now to look at all of those impacts and for now the Government is very positive in relation to the bid."
He was also asked if Croke Park, a GAA ground could be used if the bid was succesful
Hill said: “Croke Park and Aviva Stadium would be in our thinking.
“In terms of the feasibility study we initiated for the World Cup, we talked to (the GAA) on a regular basis anyway.
“So that was part of the initial discussion. We’ll wait to see what the parameters from UEFA are in terms of stadia number and matches.
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.
