Scottish independence ‘no impact’ on Euro 2020 bid

SFA chief executive Stewart Regan. Picture: John Devlin

A summary of UEFA’s report on the Hampden bid states that the legal situation surrounding Hampden’s bid “may have to be reassessed” should the Yes campaign triumph in Thursday’s vote.

But SFA chief executive Stewart Regan has stated that this will have no bearing when UEFA’s executive committee has its own vote on Friday, as members decide which 13 of the 19 bidding cities will stage games.

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Regan, speaking about the report in an SFA video, said: “No impact whatsoever. We have a Scotland team, we play as the Scottish FA, we will be staging matches irrespective of whether Scotland is a separate nation or not.

“It’s in there simply to flag to ex-co members that the day after independence, they are going to be making a vote about which cities to award the Euro 2020 Championships to.

“As far as we are concerned, it’s in there simply to flag the political status.”

Regan is also confident that a negative assertion in the report will be overcome. UEFA’s report stated that the commercial sector of the bid was “inadequate” as the “information provided lacks clarity”. It also states that the amount of advertising space offered was “vague”.

Regan said: “We’ve made it absolutely clear to UEFA that as far as the bid is concerned, all requirements that they have outlined will be met in full.”

The SFA chief executive feels Glasgow’s successful Commonwealth Games in the summer can help persuade UEFA.

“It’s been huge,” he said. “Undoubtedly Glasgow is now on the global map having delivered a fantastic Commonwealth Games. I think the organisers and the city should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved.

“The amount of people who visited the city, the positive feelgood factor those people had, has made a big impression and we are hoping that has rubbed off on UEFA and the ex-co members.”