Turkey loses to Germany to host Euro 2024

NYON

Germany will host the 2024 European Championship in football after beating Turkey in a UEFA vote.

The UEFA Executive Committee met in Nyon, Switzerland on Sept. 27 to pick the EURO 2024 host with Germany and Turkey bidding to host the tournament.

Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006, but has never staged the Euro as a unified country: West Germany hosted in 1988.

The bid sees matches spread over 10 stadiums with capacity for a total of 2.78 million spectators—290,000 more than Turkey—giving Germany a financial edge from potential ticket revenue.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin had made clear it is crucial “to make as much money as possible” from Euro 2024.

Ceferin, vice presidents Swedish Karl-Erik Nilsson, Portuguese Fernando Gomes, Ukrainian Grigoriy Surkis, Italian Michele Uva and British David Gill voted to determine the host.

The executive members who were eligible to vote include Polish Zbigniew Boniek, Hungarian Sandor Csanyi, Irish John Delaney, Swedish Peter Gillieron, French Florence Hardouin, Bulgarian Borislav Mihaylov, Spanish Juan Luis Larrea Sarobe, Croatian Davor Suker, Dutch Michael van Praag, Italian Andrea Agnelli and British Ivan Gazidis.

Turkey’s Servet Yardımcı, another member of the executive committee, and Germany’s Reinhard Grindel, a vice president of the UEFA, were ineligible to vote.

Earlier, the committee approved the use of Video Assistant Referees (VAR) in the UEFA Champions League from next season and for Euro 2020, following similar moves by FIFA and other top leagues.

Last week, the UEFA issued an evaluation of Turkey and Germany’s Euro 2024 bids.

The report included feedback on the state of stadiums, as well as the political, social and environmental aspects, along with issues related to security, mobility, accommodation and training facilities.

Turkey’s EURO 2024 pitch featured 10 stadiums in nine cities that include the Atatürk Olympic Stadium and Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex Türk Telekom Stadium in Istanbul, Metropolitan Municipality Stadium in the western province of Bursa, Antalya Stadium in the southern province of Antalya, Eskişehir New Stadium in the western province of Eskişehir, Gaziantep Stadium in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, Metropolitan Municipality Stadium in the Central Anatolian province of Konya, Şenol Güneş Sports Complex in the northern province of Trabzon, İzmit Stadium in the Marmara province of Kocaeli and Ankara Stadium.