BBC SPORT | N Ireland | Euro 2008 bid suffers blow

GAA President Sean McCague has said the organisation's Special Congress this month will not have a motion calling for Croke Park to be opened to other sports.

The news will be interpreted as a blow to the joint Scottish-Irish bid for the 2008 European Football Championships.

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has been pleading with the GAA to allow Croke Park to be made available for Euro 2008.

He had hoped the GAA would reverse its policy ahead of 11 December, the deadline for submitting final bid presentations to Uefa.

It's possible that the Croke Park issue will be debated at the GAA's next Annual Congress in April but that could be several months too late for the Scottish-Irish bid.

GAA president Sean McCague has described the Scottish-Irish Euro 2008 bid as flawed
Sean McCague criticised Euro 2008 bid

Speaking to RTE radio, McCague went on to criticise the joint-bid, claiming that forwarding Croke Park as a possible venue was like "building castles on sand".

"I felt that to be sure of everything being correct and in place, it was flawed to be making an application when the facilities weren't definitely going to be available," he said.

The Scottish-Irish bid received a blow last month when Bertie Ahern confirmed that his government would not be able to fund the proposed new National Stadium.

After the revelation, Mr Ahern said that he would ask the GAA to make Croke Park available for the soccer competition.

Despite the National Stadium blow, a Uefa delegation did later visit both Ireland and Scotland and saidthe bid was "alive and kicking".

However, this latest GAA comment is not good news for the bid's chances.

The GAA's Special Congress will be confined to discussing proposed changes to gaelic football.


	Links to more N Ireland stories