Russia declares interest in hosting Euro 2028 or 2032 despite World Cup ban

Russia has declared an interest in hosting either the Euro 2028 or Euro 2032 competitions, the country's football federation has said.

The Russian national team and its domestic football clubs are currently banned from all UEFA and FIFA competitions amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

In a post on their official website, the federation announced the outcome on Wednesday’s executive committee meeting which included to “support the decision to declare interest in hosting the European Championship 2028 or 2032 in Russia”.

Meanwhile, reports in Russia had previously said that executive committee member, Sergey Anokhin had previously indicated an interest in bidding for the two tournaments.

The fresh news comes after the UK and Ireland formally submitted its initial bid to host the 2028 tournament to UEFA earlier on Wednesday.

A joint statement read: “With this unique partnership, we are taking the appropriate next steps and our ambition is to stage a successful UEFA Euro which will be a wonderful celebration of football for fans and teams.

“We believe Euro 2028 would be one of the greatest sporting events ever held in the UK and Ireland.

“This unprecedented partnership of five associations offers something special to European football, including the potential for an expanded tournament, and we are passionate about maximising the sustainability and legacy benefits for communities across the UK and Ireland.

“Over the coming months, we will develop our proposals further, subject to the publication by UEFA of the full technical specification. This includes engaging in discussions with possible host cities and stadia to define the optimum tournament model and conducting a full costs and benefits analysis.

“The UK and Ireland will offer an unrivalled tournament from a technical perspective – with modern, well-connected stadia and excellent infrastructure – that makes our partnership ideal to host Euro 2028.”