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UK and Ireland to host UEFA Euro 2028 - Patricia's statement

CEO Patricia Yates' statement on the UEFA Euros Football Championship 2028 announcement.

October 2023
 

The FA/FAI

UEFA Euro 2028 UK and Ireland bid artwork

Following the announcement today that UK and Ireland will host the 2028 UEFA Football Championship, VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates said: 

“It is fantastic that the UK and Ireland have been announced as hosts of the 2028 UEFA European Football Championship. Watching live football is already the number one sporting draw for visitors to the UK and alongside experiencing the excitement and atmosphere of a match, we know football-loving tourists also enjoy our associated visitor attractions and destinations. 

“With matches set to be hosted at stadiums across the UK from Cardiff to Glasgow, Liverpool to Belfast, Newcastle to Birmingham and more, we’ll also have valuable opportunities to drive tourism across the nations and regions, encouraging football watching visitors to discover more and travel further, boosting local economies.” 
 

VisitBritain

A World Tourism Day message graphic from Patricia Yates, CEO of VisitBritain

Notes for editors

  • VisitBritain’s latest research in to football tourism - ‘Football Tourism in the UK’ - shows the importance of football in boosting tourism to Britain. 
  • In 2019, overseas visitors who went to a football match spent £1.4 billion across the UK during their trips. This was up 84% on the £742 million spent in 2011 when the research was last conducted.
  • In 2019, 1.5 million visits to the UK included watching a live football match, up 66% compared to 2011 when there were 909,000 visits.
  • Visitors who attended a football match also spent more and stayed longer, spending £909 per visit on average, 31% more than the global visitor average of £696 in 2019, and staying 10 nights compared to the inbound average of seven.
  • It is not just leisure visitors that enjoy football matches. Out of the 1.5 million who went to a football match during their stay, 94,000 were international business visitors.