LUCY FRAZER: Let’s chase the dream… Euro 2028 would leave a legacy across the UK and Ireland

The summer of Euro 96 was unforgettable. It was one of those occasions – like the Olympics in 2012 and the Women’s Euros last year – where the whole country was buzzing.

The first major football tournament England had hosted since our World Cup victory in 1966, with a team that had the country believing it could win it all.

Whilst we haven’t always got the perfect result on the field, we have shown the world, year after year, that we can host exceptional tournaments and create memories that last a lifetime.

Think of the sporting magic we’ve seen on home soil in the past three years alone. Multiple inspiring international football tournaments for the men and the women’s games. Twelve Euro 2020 games in England and Scotland. Almost all of England’s epic run to the final. And to cap it off, the record-breaking UEFA Women’s European Championship in England last summer – topped off with the Lionesses’ famous victory.

In 2028, we want to create new memories for a new generation and we want to do it in the UK and Ireland. So on Wednesday, we put in our bid to host Euro 2028.

England and Ireland have put in a joint bid to host the European Championship in 2028

British Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport Lucy Frazer (above) has backed the bid

If we can pull it off, it will be the biggest sporting event our islands have ever jointly staged – with millions watching the best players in Europe in our towns and cities over the month-long tournament.

Like any great team, our bid has the whole package. Iconic stadiums from the Aviva in Ireland to the Etihad in the North West, Hampden Park in Scotland and the Principality in Wales. And, of course, the site where Leah Williamson lifted the Women’s Euros trophy last year, Wembley Stadium.

The public transport connections needed to make it easy for fans to get around, with more than 80 per cent of ticket holders expected to get to matches on public transport and an average of just two hours travel between host cities.

And, our most important ingredient, you, the fans. Fans of our national teams have all endured their fair share of hurt. But what makes you so special is your faultless passion – not just for your team but for the game itself.

Euro 2028 will be a new and defining moment for football across the UK and Ireland. One that benefits the whole country.

Each country in our bid will want to build an inspiring legacy for this tournament and for the communities they serve. That’s why they’ve already pledged more than £500 million between 2019 and 2025 to upgrade facilities in their area – including more than £300m from the UK government between 2021 and 2025, making sure high-quality facilities don’t just exist in the usual places, they exist right across the country.

It would be the first men’s tournament to be officially hosted in Great Britain since Euro 96

It would follow in the footsteps of the Women’s Euros last summer won by England at Wembley

Ian Wright said this week, a football pitch is ‘somewhere you go as you begin to chase your dream’. There is no doubt that this tournament could inspire the next crop of youngsters in places from Crewe and Inverness to Bangor, Londonderry-Derry and Dublin, to head down to their local pitch and start their own journey from Saturday football to international stardom.

And this is without even mentioning the countless benefits to tourism. It will be a shot in the arm for all our countries. Pubs and B&Bs full to the rafters. Bunting selling out in the shops. Boosting our economies by billions and creating a feel-good factor that you can’t put a price on.

These are the moments that people savour. Flags in the car windows. Wallcharts up in the tea rooms. Fans filling pubs in cities and towns across our nations. A tournament for the whole of the UK and Ireland. A tournament for the whole of Europe.

That’s why I’m backing the UK and Ireland bid for Euro 2028.