In February 2022, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) officially confirmed that it would bid to host UEFA EURO 2032, thus abandoning its bid to secure the rights to the tournament four years earlier. We have just found out which centres have a chance to host participants of the event.

Not counting the four games played at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, the last time Italy hosted a major football tournament was in 1990. At that time, the Apennine Peninsula hosted the FIFA World Cup, with Germany winning. Competition was held at 12 venues in 12 different cities. Interestingly, no new stadium has been opened directly before the start of the event. The most recent, Stadio Friuli in Udine, was inaugurated in 1976. The rest of the arenas underwent extensive modernisation and redevelopment. The total cost of all the works – without taking inflation into account – was close to 1 billion $.

© ildirettore

After 32 years, it was considered the best time to take on the organisation of one of the most significant tournaments again. According to the Football Italia, a total of 11 cities were included in the preliminary bidding documentation. One of them will have to leave empty handed, as 10 of them will eventually be placed in the final bid. Included in the list are: Milan (Nuovo Stadio Milano), Turin (Allianz Stadium), Verona (Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi), Genoa (Stadio Luigi Ferraris), Bologna (Stadio Renato Dall’Ara), Florence (Stadio Artemio Franchi), Rome (new AS Roma stadium), Naples (Stadio Diego Armando Maradona), Bari (Stadio San Nicola), Cagliari (new Stadio Cagliari) and Palermo (Stadio Renzo Barbera). Arenas listed above are preliminary guesses. Surprisingly absent from this group are the aforementioned Udine and Bergamo, which currently have the most modern facilities in the country. 

The deadline for football associations interested in hosting EURO 2032 is 12 April 2023, after which UEFA will carefully analyse the bids of all potential hosts. The final selection of the country that will host the best teams in Europe will take place in September or October next year. 

Italy hopes that securing the event will accelerate the upgrading of stadiums and transport infrastructure across the country. The FIGC is confident that by gaining the rights to host the championship, the necessary resources will be found and the bureaucratic machinery will be dealt with. In all likelihood, Italy's only opponent in the battle for EURO 2032 will be Turkey. 

© Gaetano Capaldo