Committee publication · Correspondence · 25 November 2025
Letter from Stephanie Peacock MP, Minister for Sport, Tourism, Civil Society and Youth, regarding 2028 European Championship, 13 November 2025
From: Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Inquiry: The work of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Summary
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport confirms UK Government funding of up to £557 million for the 2028 UEFA European Football Championship, jointly hosted by the UK and Ireland. The investment is benchmarked against best practice and expected to generate £3.2 billion in socio-economic benefits for the UK, with additional contributions from devolved governments, Ireland, host cities and UEFA. The Accounting Officer assessment confirms the programme meets standards for regularity, propriety, value for money and feasibility.
Key findings
- UK Government committed £557 million for EURO 2028 planning and delivery, with £23 million directed to a central Legacy and Impact fund (total £45 million with other partners).
- Forecast socio-economic benefits of £3.2 billion across the UK (£3.6 billion including Ireland), with expected three million tickets and one million international visitors.
- Devolved governments and Ireland contributing £181 million combined: Welsh Government £30 million, Scottish Government £73 million, Government of Ireland £78 million.
- Accounting Officer assessment confirms no issues with regularity, propriety, value for money or feasibility; programme meets Managing Public Money standards and is subject to annual gateway assurance reviews.
- Tournament relies on existing stadium, transport and accommodation infrastructure with robust governance structures through UK & Ireland 2028 Ltd., operational from April 2025.
Tone
FactualTopics
Key actors
Stephanie Peacock MP, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Susannah Storey CB, UK Government, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, UEFA, UK & Ireland 2028 Ltd., UK Sport
Notable line
“This will be the largest sporting event ever jointly staged between our nations, spreading benefits across the whole of the UK and Ireland.”
Key Quotes
“To enable a safe and successful tournament, the UK Government has confirmed a funding contribution of up to £557 million for planning and delivery costs.”
“This investment delivers significant benefits across the UK and Ireland. Following an updated assessment, hosting the tournament is forecast to bring socio-economic benefits of £3.6 billion overall, with £3.2 billion of these to the UK alone.”
“I assess the EURO 2028 programme as regular. Funding for the delivery of the tournament has been approved by HM Treasury Approval Process in March 2023, and has been allocated up to FY28/29 at Spending Review”
“The cost benefit analysis conducted for the Full Business Case demonstrated that UEFA EURO 2028 could be hosted in the UK and Ireland in a manner in which the public sector investment can be justified by the benefits.”
“The UK has a world-leading track record of delivering major sporting events (including, in recent years, the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025, Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 and the Rugby League World Cup in 2022).”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗