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UEFA HAVE CONFIRMED that they will reserve backdoor qualification spots for two co-hosts of Euro 2028, offering a significant boost to Ireland’s chances of competing at the finals.
Two berths in the 24-team competition will be held for the highest-ranked host nations who do not automatically qualify as group winners or as best runners-up during the conventional group-stage qualification process.
Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales will all host games at Euro 2028, and all four nations will compete in separate qualifying groups in an effort to earn automatic qualification for the finals.
But two of the four will be guaranteed places at the tournament irrespective of how they all fare during qualifying.
Those two places will be determined by ranking at the end of the group-stage qualification process.
For example, if England were the only host nation to qualify as group winners or as best runners-up, the two highest-ranked remaining sides between Ireland, Scotland and Wales would join them at the finals.
But if, for example, two of the host nations were to secure automatic qualification via the groups, the other two hosts would then be granted passage through to the finals via the reserved places.
“(The) hosts… will also participate in qualifying, drawn into separate groups,” Uefa said in a statement after an executive committee meeting in Bilbao ahead of the Europa League final.
“The 12 group winners and eight best runners-up (20 teams) will advance directly to the Euro 2028 final tournament.
“Two spots in the final tournament will be reserved for the two best-ranked host nations who are not qualified as group winners or best runners-up after the completion of the qualifying group stage.”
The remaining places at the tournament will be earned via play-offs between the remaining group runners-up from Euro qualifying and the highest ranked 2026-27 Nations League non-qualified group winners.
The number of spots available through play-offs will depend on whether host nations qualify directly through the groups or via the reserved qualifying slots.
“The tournament schedule is expected to be released in autumn 2025,” Uefa said. “The tournament regulations with all remaining details will be published by the end of the year.”
Written by Gavan Casey and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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Methinks the DUP will continue to find excuses not to restart the Stormont Assembly until the next election cycle because they didn’t like the result of the last ones.
@Des Leavy: Yea agree and the DUP MPs in Westminster are riding roughshod over their own MLAs in Stormont.
You can take a horse to water but you can’t make him drink as the old saying goes but if he doesn’t drink he will die and I think that is what,s happening to the DUP at this stage the horse has shot himself in three of his legs so there is just one left
Can’t imagine two failed, incompetent politicians like Truss and Johnson are going to bring much to the party?
@Paul Shepherd: Truss is over to have a ganders at those “ few farmers with turnips in their trucks”!!!
@M Bowe: and Johnson probably thinks a work event so he’ll have a suitcase full of booze from Tesco….
@Paul Shepherd: I was wondering exactly the same. Two hard line Brexiteers who are along with the DUP responsible for the current mess.
Biden describes himself as Irish-American where he identifies strongly with an external Irish culture but is American nonetheless. Likewise,Varadkar and Sunak are both Indian-Irish and Indian-British on the same basis and depending on how much identify with the external Indian culture.
Neither Sunak nor Varadkar is biracial as the invalid biological notion of ‘races’ is a throwback to another era where a section of influential English society saw themselves as an Anglo-Saxon ‘race’ with an imperative to be aggressive and exterminate native cultures.
The Brexiteers are among the last of that section of their society with their total disregard for the island of Ireland along with the hapless Unionists who identify as Irish-British as they a born on the island of Ireland and identify with an external British culture.
To tackle an artificial races/racism conviction inherited from dangerous people in the 19th century is an enormous endeavour yet, almost immediately, readers can see how absurd the whole thing is. It is on this basis that people on this island both North and South move forward and influence the wider world when it comes to the invalid notion of ‘races’.
But, none can influence Donaldson and his DUP share power or engage in the process he walked out on 25 years ago.
What the DUP want is self justification and they have been consistent?
It’s a perfect example of the importance of identity.
is it a microcosm for Brexit?
The most important people here are the DUPs financial backers. The business people of NI will have the final say.
Stop paying their salaries, and that might focus their minds on getting back to work.
Varadkar sunaking up to bill for forgiveness over his paddy’s day joke gaff
@P. V. Aglue: poor syntax
The DUP don’t care about what is happening right now. They keep saying the same thing over and over again in a different words: either 100% what they want or no agreement and no power sharing.
So all those flights of important ppl back and forth are and were pointless.
@Shesh: Don’t agree because now the whole world knows what a bunch of dinosaurs the DUP really are.
As the camera pans around there’s Leo Varadkar picking his nose…
Any disccusion about bringing peace at your home punjab!
Could we just stop talking about the Political Situation in Northern Ireland for the next 100 Years, and hopefully by then the DUP might have moved an inch or so.
Our great national broadcaster can’t be bothered showing coverage of this today. Not even on its news channel. Sky news showing all the speeches live earlier. Then again, not surprised by them
Ireland england scotland all indian people this must be a first well done folks thats impressive
You know if you take the most rabid unionist and republican lock them in a container, and don’t let them out until they sort out there difference or one kills the other . Either way you would have movement.
for нот chat url1.io/s/4xY5X
@EmmaH: Are we going to talk about Leo or Rishi?
have your say