Italy to bid for Euro 2032 over 2028 show

Article posted by Coliseum, February 11^th, 2022

Image: AS Roma

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) (Italy) has opted to focus on a bid to stage Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Euro 2032 over the 2028 edition, claiming it would prefer to modernize stadiums across the country “over a longer timeframe”.

The ‘inside the games’ stated that with a deadline of March 23^rd this year for the National Football Associations to confirm their interest in staging the men’s European Championship in six and 10 years’ time, interested countries are beginning to firm up their proposals.

The 2032 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2032 or simply Euro 2032, will be the 19^th edition of the UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men’s football championship of Europe organized by UEFA. The tournament is scheduled to be played from June to July 2032. The host is expected to be chosen at the end of 2023, and the tournament could be expanded to 32 teams.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC), known colloquially as Federcalcio, is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence (Italy). It organizes the Italian football league and Coppa Italia (annual knockout cup competition in Italian football).

The ‘inside the games’ further stated that the FIGC President, Gabriele Gravina, has suggested that Italy would prefer to stage the tournament in 2032 to provide additional time to construct new grounds or redevelop existing facilities.

Rome’s 72,698-capacity Stadio Olimpico held four matches at Euro 2020, a tournament staged under UEFA’s controversial multination format.

This included the Opening Ceremony prior to Italy’s match against Turkey.

Italy has previously held the men’s European Championship in 1968 and 1980, although those editions featured only four and eight teams, respectively, compared to the 24 countries that feature under the current format.

It has also staged the Women’s European Championship in 1993 and the men’s FIFA World Cup™ in 1934 and 1990.

There are plans to replace the country’s biggest stadium – the 80,018-capacity San Siro Stadium in Milan (Italy) which is set to host the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics – with European football giants A.C. Milan and Inter Milan hoping to move into the new venue by 2027.

Reports last year also suggested that Italy was considering a joint effort with Saudi Arabia to stage the 2030 World Cup.

Bidding races for Euro 2028 and 2032 are set to be held in parallel, with final bid dossiers due to be submitted by April 12^th.

The hosts are then scheduled to be announced in September 2023.

On February 7^th, a joint United Kingdom and Ireland bid for Euro 2028 was confirmed, which is expected to face competition from Turkey and potentially Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia.

Italy are the reigning European champions, having beaten England on penalties at the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium in London (UK) last year’s final.

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