The news that Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will host the Euro 2028 football championship has been welcomed by Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill as “an opportunity of a lifetime”. The joint bid was the only remaining candidate after Turkey withdrew to focus on joining Italy in a bid to host the tournament in 2032, according to BBC News. With matches to be held at 10 venues, including Casement Park in Belfast, which is planned to be increased to 34,500 seats ahead of the tournament, the event presents a “unique opportunity to unite communities and bring people together from across the political divide and from across these two islands using the power of sport,” said O’Neill.
Local residents near the Belfast ground provided mixed reactions to news of the announcement. Ciaran McConville said he was “ready to see any game with any team playing”, but Nora Livery warned that having a big stadium like Casement Park would cause problems for residents, adding “I know it is good for businesses but there’s pros and cons.” Paul Bradley was pleased and felt that the announcement would stimulate momentum for the building of Casement Park: “It’s wonderful – I think it’s going to now, until this was declared I was still worried and concerned whether it would ever happen but I think this is it now,” he said.
The tournament, which will run for around a month, will attract spectators from across the globe and provide a significant boost to the economy. Justin McNulty, sports spokesperson for the Social and Democratic Labour Party, and David Honeyford, Alliance Party sports spokesman, both welcomed the bid and said the focus should be on adequate funding and completing the redevelopment of Casement Park, respectively. However, Traditional Unionist Voice councillor Ron McDowell described it as “ill conceived from the outset, running massively overbudget and encountering significant opposition from local residents
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More