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place - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Final - Hampden Park, Glasgow (Scotland stage Final as inaugural winners)

2013 - Wales

Semi Final 1 - Hampden Park, Glasgow
Semi Final 2 - Windsor Park, Belfast
3rd/4th place - Wembley Stadium, London (as crowd is likely to be lower an alternative venue such as Old Trafford or Anfield could be used)
Final - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

2017 - England (Hosting in 2017 may be dependent on England's bid to stage the 2018 World Cup)

Semi Final 1 - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Semi Final 2 - Hampden Park, Glasgow
3rd/4th place - Windsor Park, Belfast
Final - Wembley Stadium, London

2021 - Northern Ireland

Semi Final 1 - Wembley Stadium, London
Semi Final 2 - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
3rd/4th place - Hampden Park, Glasgow (as crowd is likely to be lower an alternative venue such as Ibrox Park or Easter Road could be used)
Final - Windsor Park, Belfast (Windsor Park chosen to stage the last game to allow time for new stadium to be developed)

This system allows for the countries hosting a semi final to play at home with a draw taking place for the respective opponents.

In 2009 for instance, the semi finals could be drawn as follows:

Semi Final 1 - Windsor Park, Belfast - Northern Ireland v Scotland (Tuesday)
Semi Final 2 - Wembley Stadium, London - England v Wales (Wednesday)

As by way of illustration only, if the teams ranked highest in the current FIFA world rankings won their matches, the two remaining fixtures would be as follows:

3rd/4th place - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff - Wales v Northern Ireland (Saturday)
Final - Hampden Park, Glasgow - Scotland v England (Sunday)

Of course, football doesn't always follow form and as a result the final two matches could be played at completely neutral venues for the teams involved. Certainly for the 3rd/4th place play-off I would recommend a smaller back-up venue to the countries national stadium that is more appropriate for the crowd expected for the teams involved.

There is always the concern about a crowded fixture calendar but his system requires just two games per team every four years and when the fixtures are played they will be completed within less than a week.

THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND'S INVOLVEMENT

I would personally like to see the Republic involved but this does present a fixture problem with their being five teams if the above format was used. It would also be unfair to exclude them since they have been involved in discussions regarding the tournament for some time.

Again, I do have a solution. If my

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