Scotland and Wales have abandoned their plan to submit a joint bid to host the Euro 2016 football tournament due to the economic crisis.
The competition is due to expand from 16 to 24 teams that year and the BBC reports that Scotland and Wales decided that the cost of upgrading and building new stadia to accommodate all the matches was too high. Only France has so far submitted an application bid to host the tournament, and the deadline is on March 9.
The only ground in Wales that meets Uefa requirements for a major event is Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
Wales’ deputy first minister and minister for economy and transport Ieuan Wyn Jones said, “The cost of bringing other venues up to this standard would run into tens of millions of pounds.
"In the current economic and financial climate, this is unaffordable."
A Scottish FA spokesman said, "The Scottish FA can confirm that we will not be pursuing a joint bid for the 2016 European Championships.
"The infrastructure required for the new expanded tournament makes it extremely difficult for us to even consider hosting. Quite apart from the stadia required, the pressure on transport, training camps and accommodation would be massive.
"We do want to host a major championships here in Scotland but, particularly in these tough economic times, we have to be realistic about the huge costs involved."
