Euro 2028 will be held in the United Kingdom and Ireland; The matches will be played in 10 stadiums: one in Northern Ireland, one in Ireland, one in Scotland and one in Wales, and six in England. Here is a list of all the arenas that have already been officially confirmed:
????Wembley (London, England);????National Stadium (Cardiff, Wales);????Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (London, England);????City of Manchester Stadium (Manchester, England) (reconstruction);????New Everton Stadium (Liverpool, England) ;???? St. James’ Park (Newcastle, England);???? Villa Park (Birmingham, England) (reconstruction);???? Hampden Park (Glasgow, Scotland);???? Dublin Arena” (Dublin, Ireland); ???? Casement Park (Belfast, Northern Ireland) (reconstruction).
The Belfast stadium has been the subject of much discussion in recent days, and not just because it now looks like an abandoned barn. The stadium was built in 1953 and has been abandoned since 2013, although money has already been allocated for its reconstruction. Casement Park was previously used for Gaelic games, including hurling and Gaelic football.
Casement Park, stadium in Belfast
Photo: Niall Carson/Getty Images
All Northern Ireland matches since 1910 have been played at Windsor Park, located in south Belfast. Casement Park is built in the western part of the city and belongs to the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), which, in addition to the state of the stadium, also caused discontent among fans. The fact is that Belfast is historically divided by political and religious contradictions, and the western part has never distinguished itself by its support for the Northern Ireland team. National team fans are convinced their trips to Casement Park could be dangerous due to nationalist sentiment there.
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“Peace Walls” Belfast
People living in west Belfast are Irish nationalists, Catholics and supporters of Irish reunification, so they support the Irish team. In the southern part, where Windsor Park is located, there are Protestants and unionists who advocate union with Great Britain. This division goes back decades and even led to war, which ended with the Good Friday Peace Agreement in 1998 and the construction of “Peace Walls” across Belfast to separate Catholics from Protestants.
The English arrived in Ireland in the 12th century; Gradually, Irish lands became victims of English expansion, which forced the local population to live under new laws. In the 16th century, colonization continued, and this time extended to Ulster (Northern Ireland), marked by particularly severe socioeconomic discrimination against the local population.
The British imposed Protestantism on Catholic Ireland and also controlled the political processes by placing people loyal to the crown. Irish Catholics did not have the right to vote and were subject to severe restrictions on education and work. The settlers also confiscated land: during the colonization of Ulster under James I, only 10% of the land was left in the possession of the Irish, and they had to pay double rent for their land.
Province of Ulster
Photo: Getty Images
The 18th century was marked by the attempts of the English authorities to eradicate Catholicism among the Irish population: all those who did not belong to the Anglican Church were deprived of a number of rights. Therefore, at that time there was a rise of the Protestant ruling class. In the 1790s, inspired by the French Revolution, the Ulster Irish founded the secret Society of the United Irishmen and, with the support of the French Directory, prepared several uprisings.
The protests were massive but poorly coordinated, so despite help from France they were repressed. Violence against the Irish intensified: brutal reprisals and terrible executions began. The oppression continued, and in 1845-1849. A mass famine began, forcing the Irish to move to other countries.
From 1870 until the outbreak of the First World War, a movement arose advocating self-government for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain. At the same time, “home rule” appeared: the idea of creating a local parliament in Ireland and granting autonomy to the island. Not everyone joined in the Home Rule League; those who were Protestants (mainly from Ulster) did not join it because they advocated keeping Ireland administratively subordinate to London. The first two “home rule” bills were not adopted, but the third was, but never came into force due to the outbreak of World War I.
Protesters with flags and guards.
Photo: Getty Images
In 1916, the Irish, quite exhausted by British domination, staged another rebellion, culminating in the Easter Rising in the fight for independence. It was repressed and many of its organizers were executed. But the attempts to achieve independence did not end there: in 1919 the Anglo-Irish War began, which ended with the signing of a peace treaty. According to him, 26 of Ireland’s 32 counties gained independence and six, in Ulster, were transferred to Great Britain, receiving the name Northern Ireland. They did not want to disconnect, since they had simply become accustomed to living according to English laws for centuries.
Ireland gained full independence in 1949, when it left the British Commonwealth of Nations. However, its 1937 Constitution included a provision that Ulster, which became Northern Ireland, was an integral part of its territories. The Catholics who still remained in the territory of Ulster became an ethnic and religious minority, while the Protestants became the majority, which became the basis for many years of disputes and confrontations. The Protestant population of Northern Ireland had more weight in society; The unionists (they got their name because they supported the idea of a union with Great Britain) prevailed in the judicial system, the police and the local parliament.
The campaign for Irish unity continued for many years and was led by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Guerrilla warfare, terrorist attacks, sabotage against the British army and, as a result, the escalation of the conflict in 1969, when street battles between Protestants and Catholics broke out on the streets of Northern Ireland. A civil war began that lasted until 1998 and ended with the conclusion of the Good Friday Agreement, which provided for the creation of self-governing authorities, the recognition of the opinion that the Protestant majority was in favor of a union with Great Britain and the majority. Irish on the island of Ireland was in favor of a single state, as well as the disarmament of the IRA. The Republic of Ireland, in turn, recognized Northern Ireland as part of Great Britain.
Northern Ireland Civil War 1969-1998
Photo: Getty Images
This agreement may have brought peace, but it did not ease tensions in the region. In Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, “peace walls” were erected during the Civil War, separating Catholic from Protestant areas, nationalist from unionist, and pro-Irish Catholic from pro-British Protestant areas. The city’s communities are still divided and defend different ideas, even though they live in the same city. The walls, which number close to a hundred, have not yet been demolished and politicians believe that total peace is still a long way off.
Stadium problems
While Ireland and Great Britain worked on their bid for Euro 2028, doubts arose about the stadiums: at UEFA’s request, their capacity had to exceed 30,000 spectators. Windsor Park has a capacity of 18,500 people, there is no money for its reconstruction and the budget for the construction of Casement Park was received and approved in 2011, so it was part of the application. Initially €36.5 million was allocated for the reconstruction, but after so many years of stagnation and attempts to reach an agreement with the local authorities, which changed from time to time, the price has increased; Now we are talking about the quantity. of 100 million euros or even 150 million euros.
It should look like this.
New Casement Park Project
Photo: GAA
At the same time, a problem arose: local residents all this time opposed the construction of a stadium with a capacity of 30,000 seats. The long constructions, the large number of people during the events, the burden on the city budget: the reasons for the protest were diverse. One way or another, the plans were finally approved, but now the question remains of when construction will begin. Because they couldn’t start it for 10 years.
Construction will be overseen by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and there is speculation in the community that this will put the organization above the Irish Football Federation. At the same time, the IFA itself claims that there are no options to rebuild Windsor Park. At the same time, Northern Ireland fans say that if their team qualifies for the Euro (according to UEFA rules, only two host countries are guaranteed places in the tournament. – Note from the “Championship”), they will watch the matches By television. .
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