Man United might have already made a mistake with Old Trafford project
Old Trafford is not a host venue for the 2028 European Championship because it withdrew from the selection process.
Old Trafford won’t host any 2028 European Championship games(Image: 2024 The FA)
Manchester United might be kicking themselves for withdrawing from the selection process to host Euro 2028 games, which will be co-hosted by England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
In 2023, United released a statement to confirm they had withdrawn Old Trafford from the list of potential venues, saying: “Manchester United was pleased to put Old Trafford forward as a potential host of UEFA Euro 2028 matches and proud of the strong case we made.
“However, during follow-up discussions with the FA, it became clear that we were unable to provide the necessary certainty around availability of Old Trafford due to potential redevelopment of the stadium. As a result, we have mutually agreed to withdraw from the shortlist of potential hosts.
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“We are committed to maintaining Old Trafford’s status as the largest and most iconic club football ground in England and look forward to future opportunities to host international matches and major events at the Theatre of Dreams.”
United did not want to commit their stadium to being involved in the tournament, and a mutual decision was reluctantly reached with the Football Association to withdraw it from consideration.
The club felt it was necessary to remove Old Trafford from contention because, at that time, they were weighing up whether to redevelop or build a new stadium.
Last year, United announced they would build a new 100,000-seater stadium close to the current ground, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe tentatively targeted the 2030/31 season for its completion.
Ratcliffe’s soft target was ambitious, but it made sense to withdraw from hosting the Euro 2028 games given the completion date, as there would have been upheaval and construction work ongoing.
However, spades have not been driven into the ground, and a new 100,000-seater stadium is not expected to be completed in time for 2030/31. United need to reach an agreement over land, confirm investors to fund the £2billion project, and then it could take five years to finish construction.
Speaking last week, Collette Roche said: “I think when we launched the idea of a new stadium 12 months ago, we did say it would take between four and five years for construction.
“And that’s right. But I think people read that as we might have the stadium ready for 2030. But as you know, with a stadium build as complex as the one that we’re going to enter into, it does take one or two years to get ready for construction.
“To get the land assembled, to get the funds in place and to get the planning permission. So that’s the part that we’re doing right now. So we’ve not named a date for opening, but we are on track within those timescales.”
This essentially means that United may have needlessly missed out on Old Trafford hosting Euro 2028 games, which is a shame for the venue, the tournament and the local area.
Old Trafford is the largest club football ground in the United Kingdom. It will feel wrong to watch Euro 2028 without it hosting games, but United were between a rock and a hard place.
And it could have been more detrimental for United to have committed to hosting games at the tournament, only to later realise that it was a mistake. Nonetheless, the situation could have been avoided with better planning.
The nine host stadiums for Euro 2028
- London – Wembley Stadium (90,652)
- Cardiff – National Stadium of Wales (73,952)
- London – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (62,322)
- Manchester – Manchester City Stadium (61,000)
- Liverpool – Everton Stadium (52,679)
- Newcastle – St James’ Park (52,305)
- Birmingham – Villa Park (52,190)
- Glasgow – Hampden Park (52,032)
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