Scotland–Ireland Euro 2008 bid
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Scotland–Ireland '08 was an unsuccessful bid by the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to host the 2008 UEFA European Championships. In February 2002, the Scottish FA and the FA of Ireland officially confirmed a joint bid for Scotland and the Republic of Ireland to host the 2008 UEFA European Championships.[1] Had the bid been successful, it would have been the first major competition hosted by both nations and the first held on the British Isles since UEFA Euro 1996, hosted by England.[2]
By the conclusion of the bidding process, Scotland had hosted three major international tournaments at youth level, the 1970 UEFA European Under-18 Championship, the 1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship and the 1998 UEFA European Under-16 Championship, as well as three UEFA Champions League finals[3] and a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final. Ireland had no experience in hosting international football tournaments at any level, although they hosted matches in the Rugby World Cup in 1991 and 1999 along with Scotland and the other Five Nations countries.[4][5]