Scotland would love to welcome the European football family to their party but reality suggest we have to work with another country.

Taylor with delegation from UEFA touring venues pre-EURO2008 decision
The man who was the architect of Scotland's failed joint bid with the Republic of Ireland for EURO2008 now says that Scotland stands a good chance to host the expanded EURO Championships - but only as part of a joint venture. Former SFA chief executive and current UEFA general secretary David Taylor believes UEFA's decision to increase the number of finalists from 16 to 24 in 2016 is to Scotland's advantage, as it improves their chance of qualification. Taylor devised the new format along with the Republic of Ireland's John Delaney before joining UEFA but the new format effectively ends Scotland's dream of staging the showpiece event on their own. Scotland does not have the facilities required and even if the stadia were available in time for any Championship there is a huge question mark over their need in the future. Taylor's plan was backed by his SFA successor, Gordon Smith, and the UEFA man insists that the changes introduced should not deter Scotland from linking up with one of the other home nations.

Taylor expects joint bids to be the norm in the future, with only England, France, Spain, Italy and Germany equipped to act as solo hosts. He said: "Scotland clearly couldn't do it by themselves, but there's nothing to rule out a joint bid. There would be fewer candidates to potentially act as host because we'd need more stadiums, possibly 10 rather than eight, so it is a step up in terms of organisation. Look at the sides who didn't make it to Euro 2008, like England, Scotland, Denmark and Ukraine. All these countries would add to the spectacle. A number of the sections (in EURO2008) were very tight and if the third teams in the group qualified, it would not have diminished the finals."

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