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WALES’ ambitious bid to host the European Championships in 2016 with Scotland appeared to move a step closer this week when First Minister Rhodri Morgan gave fresh impetus to the attempt.

Mr Morgan confirmed he will discuss a possible bid with Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond.

The Football Association of Wales has long indicated it could support a joint bid with the Scots, emphasising that neither country has the stadia to host the tournament single handedly.

It is understood a joint bid would include at least three Welsh stadia – the Millennium, Swansea City’s Liberty and Cardiff City’s new home, which is currently under construction.

Mr Salmond had previously wanted Scotland to go it alone with a bid. But it is thought a feasibility study will suggest they do not have sufficient stadia to stage the tournament on their own should the number of competing teams rise from 16 to 20 or 24 as anticipated.

Reports suggest Mr Salmond now believes a joint bid with Wales is the only way Scotland could host the 2016 event.

Mr Morgan said both the FAW and the Scottish Football Association must first confirm they want to make a joint bid before he gets fully involved.

He said yesterday: “The bid must start with the FAW and SFA deciding this is something they want to take forward jointly.

“They would then come to us to support the bid. Alex Salmond and I are due to have one of our regular meetings soon and will be able to discuss then whether the basics are in place to take this forward.”

The Scots mounted a failed attempt to host Euro 2008 with Ireland, after UEFA instead opted to take the tournament to Austria and Switzerland, where it began on Saturday.

But Mr Salmond is now said to believe that a bid with a country on the same land mass would appeal to UEFA.

FAW secretary David Collins said he and the organisation’s president Peter Rees spoke to the First Minister at the FA Cup final and Mr Morgan was “very positive” about the idea.

Though Mr Collins acknowledged the FAW and the SFA have not yet formally agreed to press ahead, he suggested a joint bid would have a realistic chance of success.

He pointed to the successful bid for the tournament in 2000 when staged jointly between Belgium and Holland and again this year between Switzerland and Austria.

He said: “The Scottish and Welsh Assembly governments would welcome the option.

“If you look at Wales, the Millennium Stadium is state of the art and one of the best in Europe – it’s classed as an elite stadium under European rules.

“The Liberty Stadium would also be state of the art as would Cardiff’s new stadium.”

Meanwhile, it emerged yesterday that the Scots could attempt to stage the tournament four years earlier than 2016.

Poland and the Ukraine have been chosen by UEFA to stage the next tournament, but both countries have admitted they face problems in hosting the competition.

Scottish sports minister Stewart Maxwell has said he would back any bid by the SFA to take the tournament in 2012.

Mr Collins said should Scotland go forward for 2012, Wales could again act as a partner in a joint Celtic bid.

He said: “If the governmental will is there to redevelop the stadiums and increase the seating capacity in the Liberty and Cardiff’s new stadium, there is a possibility of a joint bid for 2012.”

Wrexham AM Lesley Griffiths, a long-standing supporter of a joint bid, was buoyed by the news of the meeting between Mr Morgan and Mr Salmond.

The AM believes a redeveloped Racecourse ground in Wrexham could help stage the tournament.

(Source: icwales.co.uk)