Germany to host Euro 2024

Germany will host Euro 2024 after a total of 17 UEFA executive comittee members on Thursday voted in their favour in Nyon, Switzerland.

This is the third time Germany will host the continental football tournament. (Source: File/AP)

Germany will host Euro 2024, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin confirmed on Thursday. This was after they won the vote by the executive committee of European soccer’s ruling body in Nyon, Switzerland. This is the third time Germany will host the continental football tournament. Turkey was the other country in running to host the competition. Turkey is a four-time losing candidate after failed bids to host Euro 2008, 2012 and 2016.

“The procedure was transparent, the vote was democratic. Every democratic decision is the right decision,” Ceferin said. Former Germany captain Philipp Lahm, who was the ambassador for the German bid, said, “We have amazing stadiums, fans who love football, first and foremost we have people who love celebrating with other Europeans,” said “We will organise a huge football party in Germany.”

Germany were considered favorites going into the bid courtesy of their proven track record of hosting. Reportedly they should have about 4,00,000 more seats to sell than the Euro 2016 organizers. It also had 300,000 more seats than Turkey’s bid. Germany also plans to use 10 stadiums for the 51-game tournament and play the final in Berlin or Munich.

Turkey’s bid was backed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authoritarian government which had previously lost out to host the Euros in 2008, 2012 and 2016. “President Erdogan is a great football fan,” said Turkey’s top elected official at UEFA, Servet Yardimci, to The Associated Press in an interview before the vote. “We are in this strong position because of him.”

While Turkey did propose its strongest bid till date it was always likely to struggle in the first UEFA hosting vote with a human rights assessment. A currency crisis in Turkey has also seen the lira lose almost half its value against UEFA’s working currency, the euro, in the past year.