The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has confirmed its intention to bid to host the 2032 edition of the UEFA European Championship instead of the 2028 event to allow more time to build new stadiums and renovate existing venues.
UEFA, football’s European governing body, is planning on running the bidding processes for the 2028 and 2032 editions of the tournament in parallel, with the hosts for both events set to be announced in 2023.
In a statement released yesterday (Monday), the FIGC said it has presented UEFA with an expression of interest to host Euro 2032. Italy hosted the tournament in 1968 and 1980, while Rome’s Stadio Olimpico (pictured) also staged four matches during last year’s event, which took place in 11 cities across Europe.
The FIGC said it will focus on a Euro 2032 bid so it can solicit and plan a framework for the “construction of new stadiums and the restructuring of existing ones in a wider time window”.
The FIGC cited the “excellent organisation” of Rome’s Euro 2020 matches as a reason for wanting to host the tournament. The host nations for Euro 2028 and Euro 2032 are set to be announced in September 2023.
The FIGC’s decision to focus on Euro 2032 will come as a boost to the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland, which announced yesterday that they would be submitting a joint bid to host Euro 2028 after dropping plans to stage the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Germany landed hosting rights to Euro 2024 in September 2018, with the tournament to be held in 10 stadia across the country. UEFA chose Germany over a rival bid from Turkey. Germany gained 12 of the UEFA Executive Committee votes to Turkey’s four, with one abstention.
Italy is the defending European champion after defeating England on penalties in the final of last year’s tournament.
Image: Liam McKay on Unsplash
