Germany becomes the first country to confirm bid to host Euro 2024
Germany has thrown its hat in the ring to host Euro 2024. They are the first country to declare their intent to bid on the tournament and will undoubtedly be one of the favorites no matter who else joins the race.
While no other country has yet confirmed they will bid to host the tournament, Turkey and the Netherlands have been expressed interest in the past, while Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland are looking into the possibility of putting together a joint bid. The German federation had spoken about putting in a bid before, but it wasn't until Friday's vote, which went unanimously to host, that they were officially set to enter the race.
UEFA will decide on the host for the tournament in September 2018. They are requiring at least nine stadiums, two of which must seat 50,000 and preferably with one that seats at least 60,000. All stadiums must seat a minimum of 30,000
Germany intends to host with 10 stadiums, although which 10 remains to be seen. The federation will accept statements of interest from stadiums around the country from now until February 17. They will then have a month to show they are UEFA compliant before the federation chooses which 10 stadiums to include in its bid on September 15.
Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006 and the Women's World Cup in 2011 so they have proven they can host major international tournament and, thanks to the Bundesliga, have an array of stadiums capable of hosting. Their problem won't be ensuring they have stadiums and infrastructure, but paring down their options to find the right 10 cities and stadiums.
They have the Olympiastadion, which hosted the 2006 final, the Allianz Arena, which is home to Bayern Munich and the Westfalenstadion, which is home to Borussia Dortmund, all seating at least 72,000. That just leads the way, with eight more stadiums seating at least 50,000, not to mention an extensive rail system that can take fans from city to city easily. All considered, the German bid is going to be a tough one to beat.
