Scotland, Wales, Ireland mull Euro bid - report

Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland have told UEFA that they would be interested in hosting the Euro 2020 championships, Britain's domestic Press Association news agency reported on Tuesday.

The agency quoted an unnamed source close to European football's governing body as saying that they had received a written expression of interest from the Celtic nations. A deadline for expressions of interest closes at 2200 GMT on Tuesday.

The only other country known to have told UEFA that they would be interested in hosting the showpiece tournament is Turkey but their bid could be scuppered if Istanbul is awarded the Olympic Games in the same year.

The former Soviet republic of Georgia were also reported on Tuesday to be interested in hosting the championship.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge told AFP in an interview last week that under IOC rules, no country can host another major sports event in the same year as the Games.

Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland have previously bid for the right to host the European championships. They were first to be eliminated in voting for the 2008 tournament and decided against bidding for the 2016 edition.

Euro 2020 will see the number of teams participating increase from the current 16 to 24, with host nations required to submit up to 10 suitable stadiums for matches.

The Press Association quoted Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan as saying that there had been a discussion about bidding for the tournament but did not confirm or deny that an expression of interest had been submitted.

Scotland boss Craig Levein, however, said: "The first I heard about it was when I was walking in the door just now. I haven't had a chance to even think about it.

"I've got enough on my plate just now with worrying about the game in the USA to start thinking about what happens in 2020."

Scotland play a friendly against the USA in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 26.

Overall Medal Count

Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States 46 29 29 104
2 China 38 27 23 88
3 Great Britain 29 17 19 65
4 Russia 24 26 32 82
5 South Korea 13 8 7 28
6 Germany 11 19 14 44
7 France 11 11 12 34
63 Malaysia 0 1 1 2

Olympic, Olympiad, the Olympic rings, Faster Higher Stronger, Citius Altius Fortius and related marks are owned by the International Olympics Committee, the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, or their related entities. This site is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with any of these entities.