A joint bid from the United Kingdom and Ireland to host Euro 2028 now has no rivals after Türkiye withdrew from the bidding process, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) said on Wednesday.
Britain and Ireland shelved plans to bid to host the 2030 World Cup to focus on staging the European Championship and their bid was already the favorite for the 2028 tournament.
European football's governing body is due to announce the hosts of the 2028 and 2032 Euros at a meeting of its executive committee on October 10.
Türkiye, which has bid unsuccessfully to stage every Euro going back to 2008, was initially a candidate for both 2028 and 2032.
However, in July it agreed to join Italy in a bid for the 2032 edition, without saying at the time if it would pull out of the running for 2028.
Leonardo Bonucci (C) of Italy lifts the trophy and celebrates with teammates after winning the UEFA Euro 2020 championship final between Italy and England at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom, July 11, 2021. /CFP
On Wednesday, UEFA said Türkiye was focusing all its efforts on the joint bid with Italy.
"As indicated by the Football Association of Türkiye, with its submission of the request for a joint bid, their bid to stage UEFA Euro 2028 is consequently withdrawn," the body confirmed.
That means the decision on both editions should be a formality, with the UK and Ireland unopposed for 2028 and Italy and Türkiye having no rivals for 2032.
England, which hosted the women's Euro last year, last hosted a men's major tournament at Euro 96, when it involved just 16 teams.
It also hosted the final of the 24-team Euro 2020, delayed by a year due to the pandemic, at Wembley.
Between them, England and Scotland hosted 12 games during that tournament.
Italy also hosted matches in Rome at Euro 2020 but has not hosted a tournament on its own since the 1990 World Cup.
It hosted the final stages of the four-team Euro in 1968 and the eight-team tournament in 1980.
Türkiye, which hosted this year's Champions League final in Istanbul in June, has never been awarded a major international competition.
Russia initially declared an interest in hosting either the 2028 or 2032 Euro but UEFA later said it would not consider any bid from the Russian Football Union, after Russian clubs and national teams were suspended from all UEFA competitions.
The next Euro will be played in Germany next year, from June 14 to July 14.