The delegation from European soccer's governing body was in Dublin examining facilities for the 'Celtic bid', the future of which was thrown into doubt last week by uncertainty over whether Ireland will be able to provide two suitable stadia.

'Our initial conclusion today is that this bid is very much alive and kicking, it is still in the race and competing strongly with the other bids,' UEFA's director of communications Mike Lee told a news conference at a Dublin hotel.

Earlier, the seven-strong UEFA team visited the proposed site of Stadium Ireland on the edge of Dublin, a project looking for private sector backing after the Irish government said last week it could not build with public money.

They also inspected the 80,000-seater Croke Park stadium on Dublin's northside, home of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) whose rules ban 'foreign sports' at its grounds.

The Euro 2008 bid depends on Ireland providing two stadia to go alongside six venues in Scotland, but to date only the smaller Lansdowne Road, home of Irish rugby but also used by the national soccer side, is definitely available.

'The key issue from the Irish perspective is the stadia issue,' said Brendan Menton, general secretary of the Football Association of Ireland.

WORKING HARD

'But we went into this bid on the basis of three stadia in Dublin, two of which would be used for the tournament and that is still the position. We had assurances from the government that they are working very hard to resolve the stadia issue.'

Bid director John Henderson was also confident.

'The UEFA team asked some searching questions but our bid is extremely robust and fulfils all the criteria that UEFA have laid out,' he said.

'Obviously, the issue of stadia was raised and the delegates were reassured that we can deliver what we have promised -- great stadia and a great tournament.'

The Irish government is looking for private investors interested in funding Stadium Ireland - long-seen as a pet project of Prime Minister Bertie Ahern - after saying a downturn in public finances meant it could not pay for it.

The government has also said it will appeal to the GAA - which runs traditional Irish sports such as Gaelic football and hurling - to relax its rules and allow Croke Park to be used on a one-off basis for the soccer tournament.

Despite the uncertainty over stadia, Lee said the UEFA team, who visit Scotland on Tuesday, were impressed by what they saw.

'We have been very impressed with the political commitment we have seen, not only from the Taoiseach (prime minister) and the national government but also from the Dublin city authorities,' he said.

The deadline for resolving the stadia issue is December 11, when final bid presentations must be made to UEFA.

The Irish-Scots bid is one of seven.