Ireland Continue To Push For More Euro Involvement Despite Casement Debacle

Over the last few years one of the biggest topics of conversation when it comes to sport in the Republic of Ireland has been how the internal games authorities (ie the Irish Football Association and key partners) can boost both the profile, and the financial rewards available in the League of Ireland.

Studies and reports have been commissioned and completed, but in many ways fans up and down the country have seen very little of note on that front, with little more than baby steps having been taken in spite of all the talking, ambitions and promises being made. That is not to say the LOI has not seen significant growth as revenues are up, attendances are rising and clubs across the board are happier with their fan engagement programmes which are helping to boost numbers.

We are learning tricks from England, European leagues and the United States but even for those fans who like a small flutter, something akin to nfl mvp odds at the end of the season may be a step too far - although we have Player of the Year I suppose.

One of the big drivers for change and further investment into the league has been the upcoming 2028 European Championships. In a joint proposal with Northern Ireland, Belfast originally secured five games for Casement Park and Dublin secured six games for the Aviva Stadium, and the original plan was for Casement Park to be completely rebuilt and brought up to the required standard for hosting such games.

However, funding from the UK Government to cover the majority of the building costs fell down, so those five Belfast games have now been scrapped as the stadium would clearly not be rebuilt in time for the Euros given the many, many months that have now been lost to bureaucracy. In some ways it is probably no surprise that the UK Government backed out of the funding as latest figures had seen estimates to rebuild the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) stadium reach over £400 million if it were to meet the specifications necessary to meet the staging requirements.

As a response to this disappointment, speaking at the Aviva Stadium recently, Irish Culture and Sports Minister Catherine Martin explained that the focus had changed to seeing if we could host more tournament games in other, unexplored venues, across the island. Obviously a driver behind taking some additional games out of Dublin would be the spread of tourism that other areas and regions would then share in.

The GAA's home at Croke Park, as well as Cork's Pairc Ui Chaoimh have subsequently been named as potential alternative staging arenas after Casement Park dropped out of the running and the optic of Ireland making an application for additional tournament games was also raised by Junior Minister for Sport Thomas Byrne.

He spoke on the issue as he attended the launch of Ireland's national strategy for hosting major international sporting events, and he also confirmed that contact had already been made with UEFA over the possibility of increasing our involvement in the competition, but on a more regional basis, and he further confirmed that talks had already been held with existing partners on just how that could be achieved and be more attractive as a proposal to the UEFA body.

Whilst more games would mean more complicated logistics and more disruption for those who both love and hate the sport of football, whilst the Casement Park saga is hugely disappointing, spreading and sharing the financial benefits around the country in a more balanced way - as opposed to just being Dublin focused - would be a greater win, and dare I say 'better legacy' and return on what hosting games will cost us in the first place.

We will have to see where these conversations and proposals now take us.