Hampden could be redeveloped as part of Euro 2028 bid

The redevelopment of Hampden Park is to be explored as part of Scotland’s joint-bid to host Euro 2028.

It was confirmed on Monday that the Scottish Football Association is working on the bid following an extensive “feasibility study”.

England, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland would also host games at the tournament, if the joint-bid is successful.

“It’s hugely exciting to be involved in a bidding process for what is the third largest sporting event in the world.”

Hear from Ian Maxwell, as he discusses the UK and Ireland bid to host UEFA EURO 2028.
— Scottish FA (@ScottishFA) February 7, 2022

Speaking after the announcement of the joint-bid, Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell outlined the association’s focus on developing Hampden.

The SFA bought the stadium 18 months ago from Scottish League One side Queen’s Park.

“The stadium piece is an important one for us, there’s no doubt about that, and we need to look at exactly what hosting a Euro in 2028 can bring in terms of the development of Hampden,” said Maxwell.

“We are very much focused on developing Hampden and we need to engage with the Scottish Government primarily to see what hosting a Euro can help with in that regard.”

Maxwell outlined the benefits of hosting the tournament in helping to further grow the game.

“Obviously we hosted matches in 2021 and were fortunate enough to be part of the tournament, and the impact that we saw on the game in this country was huge,” he said.

“We engaged with a significant number of Scots that weren’t really engaged with the national team before and weren’t really engaged much with football.

“All five national associations and the rest of Europe want the game to grow and develop and, our experience tells us, there is no better way to do that than to host a major event such as this and to reap the benefits from being involved.

“Obviously we all want to qualify and that will have a massive part to play as well but the benefit that we saw from being at our first tournament for a long, long time absolutely reinforces the desire and the benefits that can come from doing these events.”