Uefa hand Euro 2028 co-hosts a safety net but Northern Ireland must qualify as normal
The Northern Ireland was originally named as a host nation for the tournament alongside England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland with games planned for Casement Park.
However, the UK Government confirmed last September that the west Belfast stadium would not be rebuilt in time for the tournament, refusing to cover the funding gap required to deliver redevelopment of the derelict GAA ground.
It said the risk to the public purse of missing the tournament deadline was too high.
As such, Northern Ireland will not be considered hosts for tournament, meaning they will face an uphill battle to qualify for the prestigious competition.
All four co-hosts nations will enter the qualification process as usual. However, Uefa have confirmed that the two best-ranked co-hosts who do not qualify through normal means, will be handed an automatic qualification spot.
In other words, if England and Scotland qualify through the normal means while Wales and the Republic of Ireland do not, the Welsh and Irish will be gifted a place in the tournament.
If only one team qualifies automatically, places would then be judged on Fifa rankings. Uefa will also ensure that England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland cannot meet in the qualifiers.
Previously, when the tournament had co-hosts, as was the case in 2008 (Austria and Switzerland) and 2012 (Poland and Ukraine), the host nations had automatic qualification in place.
But with four co-hosts for 2028, Uefa have opted for a system where all four nations will play in the qualifiers but with a safety net that all but guarantees a place in the finals.
'As in the current 2024-26 European Qualifiers, twelve qualifying groups will be formed of four or five teams. Hosts England, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales will also participate in qualifying, drawn into separate groups,' Uefa said after their Executive Committee made their decision in Bilbao today.
'The 12 group winners and 8 best runners-up (20 teams) will advance directly to the Euro 2028 final tournament.
'Two spots in the final tournament will be reserved for the two best ranked host nations who are not qualified as group winners or best runners-up after the completion of the qualifying group stage.
'The remaining spots will be assigned via play-offs between the remaining runners-up in the qualifying groups and the best ranked 2026-27 Uefa Nations League non-qualified group winners.
'Depending on the number of spots used by the host nations, the number of final tournament spots decided by play-offs may vary between two and four.'
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