The European soccer body has been looking at whether to
expand the tournament again to include 32 of its 55 member nations, officials
said in July during the successful Euro 2020.
UEFA set a March deadline on Tuesday for members to register
interest in hosting a 24-team, 51-game format in 2028 though cautioned plans
could change.
Until tournament rules are confirmed “information regarding
dates, the number of participating teams and the number of matches are
provisional,” UEFA said.
UEFA is looking for its own hosts amid uncertainty in the
international soccer schedule as FIFA pushes proposals to stage the World Cup
every two years despite widespread European opposition.
Even if FIFA succeeds in getting support for a biennial tournament,
a 2028 World Cup is unlikely because of a back-to-back clash with the 2028 Los
Angeles Olympics scheduled July 21-Aug. 6.
UEFA set a September 2023 target for its hosting decision —
less than five years before the scheduled kickoff in June 2028.
Russia and Turkey are possible candidates to host the
tournament alone without needing to build any of the 10 stadiums UEFA requires.
A stadium with at least 60,000 capacity is needed for the final.
Spain could be a candidate if its not involved in bidding for
the 2030 World Cup. That project would likely be a co-hosting plan with
Portugal.
“Joint bids are permitted (for Euro 2028), provided that the
bidding countries are geographically compact,” UEFA said.
Staging the Euro 2020 in 11 different countries — after
Belgium and Ireland dropped out of the original project — was a one-off
experiment, UEFA has long insisted.
Two co-hosts would get automatic entries in the finals
tournament, but a three-nation candidacy “cannot be guaranteed” to all get a
place, UEFA said.
UEFA’s marquee national team event was for 16 teams from
1996 through 2012 co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. It expanded to 24 teams for
Euro 2016 in France.
Euro 2024 is being hosted by Germany.