Russia offers to replace Italy as Euro 2032 host, find out more | OneFootball

Amid the uncertainty surrounding Italy hosting Euro 2032, Russia, currently banned by UEFA and FIFA due to the war in Ukraine, emerges as a possible replacement for the Boot Country as host of the continental tournament.

The tournament was initially designated for Italy and Turkey, who submitted a joint bid, following the 2028 model, in which the United Kingdom and Ireland joined forces to host the competition. In the official proposal phase, Italy, Turkey, and Russia presented their projects, but the Russian bid was declared ineligible due to the conflict in Ukraine.

In an interview with the Russian newspaper Sport.ru, the president of the Moscow Football Federation, Alexander Dyukov, stated that Italy is facing structural problems with its stadiums and emphasized that Russia is fully capable of hosting the tournament.

Problems with the stadiums

Italy is facing a serious problem with sports infrastructure. According to the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, only one of the ten stadiums proposed by the Italian Federation is fit to host Euro matches.

The president of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin, described the situation as “shameful” and stated that Italy has “the worst infrastructure among the major European teams“.

In August this year, the president of the Lega Serie A brand, responsible for the Italian Championship, Ezio Simonelli, expressed concern about the risk of the country losing the right to host the tournament.

What could happen?

Despite Russian interest, holding the Euro in Russia is unlikely while the country remains involved in the war in Ukraine. UEFA and FIFA continue the suspension of Russian teams and clubs from all official competitions. Since then, Russia has only played unofficial friendlies, mostly against non-Western countries.

On the other hand, Italy really is at risk of losing its hosting rights for the tournament. If this happens, UEFA is expected to confirm Turkey as the sole host of Euro 2032.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.