Ireland/ Scotland Euro 2012 bid

[harry_h]

FAI keen on Euro 2012 bid

The Football Association of Ireland is considering a bid to co-host the 2012 European Championship with Scotland.
FAI chief executive Fran Rooney re-iterated the plans, despite the failure of their joint bid with Scotland to host the 2008 tournament.

"We are looking at the possbility of staging the tournament," said Rooney. "We will of course have to formally approach the Scottish FA once more.

"We will have only one stadium at our disposal, the revamped Lansdowne Road."

The bid for Euro 2008 came up short, with Austria and Switzerland winning the rights after Uefa decided their proposal was the best of the seven contenders.

The joint Celtic bid was not among the final four bids recommended to Uefa's executive by the national team committee.

 

[Dawsey]

Probably the only way the Scots can qualify......

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

and irish

 

[harry_h]

and irish

Cheeky!

 

[Wozza]

Scotland should dump the Irish (and their one stadium!) and team up with the Welsh.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

how do they expect to win the bid when one of the country's only has ONE stadium?

 

[harry_h]

Scotland should dump the Irish (and their one stadium!) and team up with the Welsh.

Someone on the 606 messageboard suggests this

 

[Inkerman]

So if a tournament is co-hosted then do both countries qualify automatically? Surely the other countries must object to that as it means one less place up for grabs through qualifying?

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

Scotland should dump the Irish (and their one stadium!) and team up with the Welsh.

yes wales would be better than Ireland, but wales still only has two(millenium and the future cardiff ground)

 

[harry_h]

So if a tournament is co-hosted then do both countries qualify automatically? Surely the other countries must object to that as it means one less place up for grabs through qualifying?

Both do qualify, South Korea/Japan Belgium/Holland and Austria/Switzerland

 

[Wozza]

For what it's worth, FIFA have said they won't allow a World Cup to be shared again.

 

[Dawsey]

This is the European championships though, not the World Cup

 

[London Irish]

Correction, Ireland has two big stadiums, Lansdowne (50k) and Croker (80k+). Access to the latter for "garrison games" will be resolved in the next few years, all the GAA top brass want it.

With Scotland's stadiums, hosting a Euro tournament with a joint bid is perfectly realistic. Did anyone have a problem with the joint hosting for Euro 2000? No.

 

[harry_h]

Euro 2008 is being joint hosted. (Switzerland and Austria)

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

why dont they just hold it in a footballing nation instead?

 

[Dublin_Seagull]

Just to let you guys know Ireland has about 3 Stadiums but Croke Park which holds about 80,000 seated people only allow Gaelic Football to be played there and no as they say a english game to be played on thier soil.

Any way This bid hasnt a chance to be accepted by the powerful Football Nations

 

[Cian]

I can't remember how big the stadiums down the bogs are - Semple/Marcievicz/Pearse might be pretty big too, but I think they're mainly terraces...

By 2012 we'll have two decent stadia where football can be played, and we might, just might have a crap but usable third stadium from one of the Eircom League clubs or the GAA.

 

[Jambo Seagull]

If Scotland had had the bottle to go it alone last time rather than rope in the Irish i think they might have won it. As soon as the Irish got involved it was dead in the water. Until the Croke Park/GAA thing is resolved I can't see it working.

 

[rool]

There are a few large stadiums in Ireland that exceed 40k although as someone says above they are mainly terracing. The one in Limerick holds 50k, Killarney has a capacity of 43k I think, although the toilet facilities are as good as saltergates (a screened wall with a gully that you piss into). The main problem is the GAA allowing it. They wouldn't even allow football to be played there when Landsdowne is to be rebuilt. There are some good rugby venues as well.

After watching the equivalent of question time over here the problem isn't that an english game will be played there it is that, god forbid, an english flag might be raised if we were ever to play there. One leading official said on this programme that if the British flag was ever to be raised at croke park he would climb up and rip it down himself, therefore, you are wrong LI to say that all the top brass want it, it is all the reasonable ones that want it.

If the GAA could move forward then it would be great to have a euro championship over here

 

[oldham gull]

Why don't we all lobby for the Irish to be given a little bit more European money so that they can build some sparkly new stadia. It's not as if they have got much out of being in the European Union is it!