Turkey ‘bid’ to merge EURO 2032 bid with Italy

Article posted by Coliseum, August 2^nd, 2023

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Turkey has requested to merge its bid to host EURO 2032 with Italy, potentially boosting the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland’s chances of hosting the tournament in 2028.

‘BBC’ stated that while Italy had only bid for the 2032 tournament, Turkey had bid to host both EURO 2028 and 2032.

The 2032 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA EURO 2032 or simply EURO 2032, will be the 19^th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organized by the UEFA for the senior men’s national teams of its member-associations.

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Nyon (Switzerland)-based the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is one of the six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, as well as some Asian countries such as Israel, Cyprus and Armenia. The UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.

The 2028 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA EURO 2028 or simply EURO 2028, will be the 18^th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organized by the UEFA for the men’s national teams of its member-associations.

‘BBC’ further stated that Turkey’s solo bid for 2028 remains as a rival to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland’s five-nation bid.

The UEFA will choose the hosts for both the tournaments on October 10^th.

It is likely that Turkey will not officially withdraw from the bidding process for EURO 2028 until their joint bid is approved by the UEFA, but if and when that does happen, the United Kingdom and Ireland bid would be left unopposed.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said the decision to merge with Turkey followed a “complex and fruitful consultation process” and pointed to other successful joint bids at previous EUROs, the upcoming World Cup in 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico and the UK and Republic’s bid for 2028.

The FIGC added, “[They] show that sharing events of this magnitude represents, on the one hand, a route for the direct involvement of a higher number of fans and, on the other, the search for an even more efficient and sustainable design.”

The 2026 FIFA World Cup™, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26™, will be the 23^rd FIFA World Cup™, the quadrennial international men’s soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member-associations of FIFA. The tournament will take place from June 11^th-July 19^th, 2026.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC), known colloquially as the Federcalcio, is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the Technical Department is in Coverciano, Florence. It manages and coordinates the Italian football league system.

Said Gabriele Gravina, FIGC President, “We are facing a historic turning point that aims to enhance continental football. Football wants to be an ideal bridge for sharing passions and emotions related to sport.”

The European football’s governing body says it will work with both the Turkish and Italian federations to “ensure that the documentation to be submitted for their joint bid is compliant with the bidding requirements. If the joint bid does comply with such requirements, it will be submitted to the UEFA Executive Committee at the meeting scheduled on October 10th, where the appointments for 2028 and 2032 will be made. Decisions on venues and match schedules will be made at a later stage.”

Turkey hosted June’s Champions League final between the Premier League team Manchester City F.C. (UK) and the Serie A club Inter Milan (Italy) at Istanbul’s 77,087-capacity Atatürk Olympic Stadium, but a major international tournament has never been held in the country.

The reigning European champions Italy hosted the EUROs in 1968 and 1980 and Rome’s 72,698-capacity Stadio Olimpico was also used as a venue at EURO 2020.

In April, 10 grounds were selected for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland’s bid.

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