Türkiye bids to host Euro 2028 or 2032
ISTANBUL
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has submitted a final bid to UEFA to host the 2028 or 2032 editions of the European Football Championships.
“UEFA today received three bid dossiers from member national associations interested in hosting the 2028 and 2032 European Championships,” the European football’s governing body announced on April 12.
“United Kingdom and Ireland [represented by the football associations of England, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales] submitted their bid dossier for Euro 2028. The Turkish Football Federation submitted their bid dossier to host either Euro 2028 or 2032 and the Italian Football Federation submitted their bid dossier for Euro 2032,” UEFA said.
It will be Türkiye’s sixth consecutive attempt to host the European Championship.
Sports Minister Muharrem Kasapoğlu signed the government guarantee and stated that the country has everything it needs to host such events.
Istanbul is due to host this year’s Champions League final at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium on June 6.
“The quality of our facilities, infrastructure, accommodation, young population,” he said.
“When you put it all together, we can say that our country shines like a star and is one of the most important sports destinations in the world.”
“I think that Türkiye can add important value to Euro 2028 and Euro 2032.”
Türkiye’s bid features 10 stadiums in eight cities: Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Nef Stadium and Ülker Stadium in Istanbul, Bursa’s Büyükşehir Stadium, Antalya Corendon Airlines Park, Atatürk Stadium in Eskişehir, Kalyon Stadium in Gaziantep, Konya Büyükşehir Stadium, Trabzon Şenol Güneş Complex and May 19 Stadium in the capital Ankara, which is currently under construction.
“By becoming a candidate for the fifth time in a row to organize Europe’s biggest tournament at the national team level, our federation has once again shown its determination to the entire world,” TFF chairman Mehmet Büyükekşi told reporters after submitting Türkiye’s dossier.
“We are very pleased to submit our carefully prepared candidacy file to UEFA. We sincerely thank all our ministers and local administrators, especially our president, for their unconditional guarantees in support of our candidacy. We believe that these guarantees, which UEFA looks for in bids but cannot find in every country, will take our bid one step further. We have always prided ourselves on our modern stadiums and facilities, the passion for football in our country and our high level of organization,” he added.
The joint bid by the U.K. and Ireland features ten stadiums, six in England and one in each of the other countries, with capacities ranging from Wembley Stadium’s 90,652 to Casement Park in Belfast with 34,500.
The average stadia capacity stands at around 58,000.
Organizers claim that it is a “low risk, high reward host” due to the “high-capacity, world-famous football grounds and state-of-the-art venues.”
Italy, meanwhile, has not been the sole host of the tournament since 1980 when it was contested by eight teams, but staged four matches at Euro 2020.
The UEFA administration will evaluate each of the bids in the next couple of months, with the Executive Committee to vote in October on which countries have won the right to host the 2028 and 2032 editions.
