After taking over Poznan, Gdansk and Sopot in 2012, the Irish fans are set to travel in large numbers to France next summer.
While teams such as England, Czech Republic, Iceland and Austria had qualified since September, the Irish fans wont have to wait too long for the tournament draw.
December 12th is the first date for everyone's diary. The draw takes place in Paris on that Saturday afternoon and it may give Martin O’Neill an early Christmas present, or perhaps a Christmas nightmare.
With the addition of eight teams to Euro 2016, compared to the tournament four years ago, there will be four pots of six teams in the draw. As mentioned earlier, Ireland will be in Pot Four among the weakest teams.
Giovanni Trapattoni’s side were in a similar position four years ago. In that draw Ireland drew the eventual finalists in Spain and Italy. They were also paired with Croatia and sadly lost all three games.
Zinedine Zidane draws out the Republic of Ireland at the Euro 2012 draw. Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Action Images/Kai Pfaffenbach
Currently, only the hosts France know their schedule for Euro 2016. The games, dates and locations have already been decided. All that is now needed are the teams to play the games. Ireland’s path will be immediately clear once the draw is made, with dates, times and venues for all three games. Each team will play their opening match between June 10th and June 14th.
This will be the first time France has hosted a major international tournament since the 1998 World Cup. As was the case with that tournament, the opening match and final will take place in the Stade de France in the Parisian suburbs.
Ten stadia will be used around France for the event. Lille, Lens, Paris, Bordeaux, Saint-Etienne, Lyon, Toulouse, Marseille and Nice will all host games. The Irish fans should hope to avoid being drawn in the south of France as the stadia in Toulouse and Nice will have less than 35,000 seats making it tough for Irish fans to get tickets.
Once the draw is made in December, Ireland’s fans will be able to buy tickets on UEFA’s Ticket Portal from December 14th. The system will be very similar to the one used to buy tickets for Euro 2012. Prices start from €25 for group games.
Irish fans with tickets before the Croatia game at Euro 2012. Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Donall Farmer
The final date for Irish fans diaries is July 10th. That is when the final takes place in the Stade de France. We can all dream...
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