Who will host UEFA EURO 2024?
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Thursday's announcement was delayed by several minutes, but when UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin finally stepped onto the stage at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, it came as little surprise that it was Germany's name that he pulled out of the envelope. Show
"The procedure was transparent, the vote was democratic. Every democratic decision is the right decision," Ceferin said. The announcement was met with broad smiles and cheers from German Football Assocation (DFB) President Reinhard Grindel and the rest of his delegation. "I would like to thank the UEFA Executive Committee for the unbelievable trust," Grindel said. "I feel a sense of responsibility. We know what this tournament means. We will do everything in our power to live up to the expectations." Grindel was also quoted as saying Germany had won by a vote of 12-4 with one invalid ballot cast. Evaluation report While the DFB's bid had long been seen as the favorite to win the right to host Euro 2024, it was given a major boost last Friday with the release of UEFA's evaluation report on the two competing bids. The 40-page report said there were no major reservations about Germany's bid to host its first European Championship since 1988. "The DFB (German Football Association) bid is of high quality and comfortably meets overall expectations when it comes to political aspects, social responsibility, sustainability and human rights," it stated. But the report outlined concerns about the bid submitted by Turkey, the only other country on Thursday's ballot, particularly in the areas of human rights, infrastructure and the economy. At the same time, though, the report noted the full support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the general public for the project. Former Germany captain to head committee Now that Germany has won the right to host Euro 2024, Philipp Lahm, the ambassador for the DFB's bid, is to take on the role of head of the organizing committee for the tournament. "We have amazing stadiums, fans who love football, first and foremost we have people who love celebrating with other Europeans," said Lahm, a former Germany captain.  "We will organize a huge football party in Germany." Turkish disappointment This was the fourth time that Turkey has been unsuccessful in a bid to host a European Championship, having sought to win the right to host the 2008, 2012 and 2016 tournaments. "This is saddening for UEFA and for Euro 2024. Our strength, quality in terms of (this) organization is obvious. It is clear that we have new facilities and stadiums," Turkey's sports minister, Mehmet Kasapoglu, told Turkish television. "There is nothing we have lost as a country." Good news for DFB after a difficult summer As for Grindel and the DFB, winning the right to host the tournament comes as a welcome piece of good news following a summer that saw the national team crash out of the World Cup in Russia – as well as the controversy over a meeting between Germany players Mesut Özil and Ilkay Gündogan and the Turkish President. Grindel in particular was also criticized for the way he handled the aftermath of the photo op, which took place just weeks before the start of the World Cup. The affair culminated in Özil resigning from international football in a series of tweets, in one of which he said he would never play for Germany as long as he had "this feeling of racism and disrespect." Euro 2024 is to mark the return of the European Championship to a single-host format, after the pan-European tournament in 2020, which is intended as a celebration of its 60th anniversary. The German city of Munich is to be among the venues to host Euro 2020 matches. Oct 9, 2022
The draw for the qualifying phase of Euro 2024 took place on Sunday, Oct. 9 at the Markthalle in Frankfurt, Germany. Here's everything you need to know. - Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (U.S.) What are the qualifying groups for Euro 2024?The draw consisted of seven groups of five countries, and three groups with six teams. UEFA Nations League A winners Croatia, Netherlands, Italy and Spain were drawn in the smaller groups, and they are among 12 teams guaranteed a playoff place through their performances in the Nations League if they do not qualify for Euro 2024 automatically. Group A: Spain, Scotland, Norway, Georgia, Cyprus Group B: Netherlands, France, Republic of Ireland, Greece, Gibraltar Group C: Italy, England, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Malta Group D: Croatia, Wales, Armenia, Turkey, Latvia Group E: Poland, Czech, Albania, Faroe Islands, Moldova Group F: Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Estonia Group G: Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Lithuania Group H: Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland. Group I: Switzerland, Israel, Romania, Kosovo, Belarus, Andorra Group J: Portugal, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Liechtenstein How many countries will qualify for Euro 2024?There will be 24 teams at Euro 2024. Hosts Germany will be joined by the winners and the runners-up from each of the 10 groups. The final three places will be decided by playoffs. How will the Euro 2024 playoffs work?The playoffs will be created using the final positions in the UEFA Nations League group stage. There will three playoff paths, one each for UEFA Nations Leagues A, B and C. The group winners are guaranteed a playoff, should they not qualify automatically. They are: League A League B League C If one of the group winners qualifies automatically, the best-ranked team which requires a playoff in that league path will take the place. If a league path cannot be filled (for instance if 13 countries qualify from League A automatically), then Estonia (best ranked in League D) will slot into that path. If more than one place has to be filled, after Estonia it reverts to overall rank in the next league. When will the qualifying games be played?The group stage will take place in the five international windows of March, June, September, October and November 2023. It starts on March 23, 2023 and finishes on Nov. 21. The playoffs will be held in March 2024. When is the final tournament?The Euro 2024 finals will be held in Germany between Friday, June 14 and Sunday, July 14, 2024. Will there still be international friendlies?The 31 countries in the five-team Groups A to G who are not in the UEFA Nations League finals will have two free dates for friendlies in 2023. How were the draw pots decided?The teams were divided into seven pots based upon the final positions in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League (UNL) group stage. The four top-ranked countries were the UNL Pot, with the next six in Pot 1. The UNL Pot exists because these countries must be drawn into a group of five countries to have the June international dates free for the UEFA Nations League finals; they will be drawn into Groups A-D. The other pots all have 10 teams, other than Pot 6 which contains the three lowest-ranked countries. What were the draw pots?UNL POT POT 1 POT 2 POT 3 POT 4 POT 5 POT 6 Where were Germany and Russia?Germany do not have to qualify as they are the host nation. Russia are still banned from international competition by UEFA due to the invasion of Ukraine. What were the restrictions on the draw?Other than the UEFA Nations League finalists needing to be in Groups A through to D, there were: - Winter venue restriction: Only two of Belarus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Norway can be in the same group. - Prohibited team clashes: Armenia / Azerbaijan - Belarus / Ukraine - Gibraltar / Spain - Kosovo / Bosnia-Herzegovina - Kosovo / Serbia - Excessive travel restrictions: Kazakhstan, Iceland and Azerbaijan have a series of specific draw conditions to prevent more than two teams being in one group. Who is hosting the EUROs 2024?Three-time winners Germany will host the 17th UEFA European Championship in 2024. EURO 2024 will be Germany's first major tournament as hosts since the 2006 FIFA World Cup and fixtures at this summer's showpiece event will take place in ten host cities including the capital, Berlin.
Who is hosting the 2026 EUROs?Denmark, Sweden & Norway. The pinnacle championship in European men's international handball will return to Scandinavia in five years, with the joint-bid of Denmark, Sweden and Norway given the green light for Men's EHF EURO 2026.
Will EURO 2024 have 32 teams?The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has decided against expanding the European Championship - for now. They will be sticking with 24 teams as the UK and Ireland jointly bid for the 2028 men's tournament, Sky News understands.
Where is the next EUROs 2028?The tournament is scheduled to be played from June to July 2028. The host – which will be either Turkey or a joint bid from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland – is expected to be chosen at the end of 2023.
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