London—Leading global law firm Dentons has announced that it advised the Central Bid Team at The Football Association on the UK and Ireland’s successful bid to host UEFA EURO 2028.

The UK and Ireland bid was confirmed in Switzerland on 10 October by UEFA, the governing body of football in Europe.

UEFA EURO 2028 UK & Ireland will be the largest major sporting event the nations have ever jointly staged.

Dentons Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Associate, Hollie Cook, was originally seconded to the UK & Ireland UEFA EURO 2028 Bid Team in April 2022 for 12 months, to work in-house on the preparation of the bid. The firm also supported the team with the drafting of the legal chapter of the bid dossier, which TMT Associate Rose McDowall led on, as supervised by Partner Sarah Lima, with support from Of Counsel Julian Michael in Ireland. Senior Associate Sarah Lovell and Associate Kate Coppack from the People, Reward and Mobility (PRM) team also advised on employment aspects. The Dentons Client Relationship Partner for The Football Association is Corporate Partner Richard Barham.

Speaking of her time on secondment, Hollie said, "It was a privilege to have been seconded to work in the Central Bid Team on the UK & Ireland UEFA EURO 2028 Bid. My involvement in the bid project was quite broad, ranging from liaising with and negotiating with stakeholders in respect of the required legal agreements, reviewing existing event-related legislation in the UK, to managing the signing process of the hundreds of legal documents.  

"It is hard to summarise in a few words just how much work went into the unique five-association partnership which will host one of the biggest sporting events in the world." 

Rose McDowall added, "I was thrilled to lead Dentons’ Bid Dossier advice for the successful UK & Ireland UEFA EURO 2028 Bid, which will be a huge boost for sports across the nations. From a Dentons’ perspective, this meant working with our offices in England, Scotland and Ireland, as well as with colleagues across our TMT, Commercial and PRM teams, which offered a fantastic opportunity to showcase the strength of our abilities in different locations and practice groups."

Dentons has previously advised on successful bids for major sporting events including the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games, the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, and the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

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