Scotland And Wales Pull Euro 2016 Bid

Scotland and Wales have abandoned plans for a joint bid to host the football European Championships in 2016 due to the economic recession.

With European governing body UEFA set to expand the event to 24 teams for 2016, there was concern that the costs would have been prohibitive.

Both countries would have had to spend many millions upgrading and building new stadia for the tournament.

Federations have until 9th March to apply to host Euro 2016, but so far only France has submitted an application.

Talks over launching a joint bid had been held between the Scottish Football Association and the Football Association of Wales last year.

But the only ground in Wales that currently meets UEFA’s requirements for a major event is Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Deputy first minister and minister for economy and transport Ieuan Wyn Jones said the money required was excessive.
‘The cost of bringing other venues up to this standard would run into tens of millions of pounds. In the current economic and financial climate, this is unaffordable.’

A Scottish FA spokesman added: ‘The Scottish FA can confirm that we will not be pursuing a joint bid for the 2016 European Championships.

‘The infrastructure required for the new expanded tournament makes it extremely difficult for us to even consider hosting.

‘Quite apart from the stadia required, the pressure on transport, training camps and accommodation would be massive.

‘We do want to host a major championships here in Scotland but, particularly in these tough economic times, we have to be realistic about the huge costs involved. Our focus for now is on qualifying for the big events in our own right.’

Austria and Switzerland staged Euro 2008, won by Spain, with the 2012 tournament set to be jointly hosted by Poland and Ukraine.