Hosting Euro 2028 will bring ‘very significant’ benefits to Scotland – Swinney

The European Championships in 2028 will bring “very significant” social and economic benefits to Scotland, the First Minister has said.

John Swinney said the Euros football tournament, to hosted by Scotland, England, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland, will bring jobs while the financial benefits are estimated to be around £270 million.

He met children taking part in the Scottish Football Association’s Extra Time programme at the Barlia Football Centre in Castlemilk, Glasgow, on Wednesday.

The programme provides free activities for primary aged pupils outside of school hours to support families on low incomes.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Swinney said the Scottish Government is investing £73 million into co-hosting the Euro 2028.

Hampden Park in Glasgow will be one of nine football grounds across eight cities hosting matches.

The Scottish Government funding includes £3.2 million for projects to help local communities as part of a wider UK and Ireland partner social impact fund of around £45 million.

This will include programmes to enable more people to participate in the game, particularly those from under-represented groups and in less advantaged communities.

Funding will also cover delivery of the tournament in Scotland, security costs and some upgrades to Hampden to ensure compliance with Uefa’s requirements.

Mr Swinney said: “We’re investing £73 million in hosting the tournament, but the economic and social benefits for Scotland, as a consequence, will be very, very significant, including extensive community involvement and participation.

“This is a major opportunity for Scotland to host a sporting tournament, a football tournament that attracts huge audiences around the world.

“It’ll be a great advocate for Scotland and a great opportunity to enhance sporting activity in our country.

“What this will do is obviously support employment in the build up to the tournament.

“But then it also has the effect of leaving a lasting sporting legacy, and all of our investment in tournaments of this type are designed to make sure that we can sustain and support a sporting legacy.

“Employment in communities and opportunities in the Football Community Development Trust here in Castlemilk is an example of how that can be undertaken with investments, creating opportunities in local communities.”

The Scottish Parliament passed stage one of the Uefa European Championship (Scotland) Bill earlier this week.

The Bill aims to ensure the prohibition of unauthorised ticket sales for profit, restrictions on unauthorised street trading and advertising within designated event zones, and provide enforcement powers to the authorities to implement these protections.

Mr Swinney said: “Scotland’s got a very strong credibility in being able to deliver major events. We’ve done that in the past. We’ve got major events coming up, the Commonwealth Games not least of which in 2026, so Scotland’s got a real capacity to host these events.

“There are of course requirements of the bid that we’ve got to fulfil to make sure our infrastructure is in place.

“I’m very confident that with the investment and the preparation time that we have, we’ll be able to do exactly that.”