Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to host European championships

By
Updated: December 10, 2016
irelandvenglandu17jamieahernemay15_large

The Republic of Ireland will host the European Under-17 Championship in 2019, writes stephen barry. 

Ireland, as hosts, will automatically qualify for the 16-team competition, which will also serve as a qualifying tournament for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

Ireland previously hosted the Under-16 Championship in 1994, with games played across Dublin, Cork, Louth, Limerick and Tipperary and the final held in the RDS Arena.

The Brian Kerr-managed side won it in 1998, featuring John O’Shea, Andy Reid and Liam Miller, before the age category was upped to U17 in 2002. They qualified for the tournament in 2008 and 2015, drawing one game and losing the other five.

Dublin played host to the Europa League final in 2011, the Regions Cup in 2015 and is one of 13 host cities for Euro 2020.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland will welcome the European Under-19 Championship in 2020. They first held the eight-team tournament in 2005.

The announcements were made by UEFA this evening.