1 week ago
28
The Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, has warned Italy it risks not being able to co-host Euro 2032 due to the condition of the country’s stadiums, which he called “some of the worst in Europe”.
“Euro 2032 is scheduled and will take place, of that there is no doubt. I just hope that the infrastructure [in Italy] will be ready. If that’s not the case, the tournament will not be held in Italy,” Ceferin said in an interview with the Gazzetta Dello Sport published on Thursday.
“Maybe Italy’s politicians should ask themselves why the football infrastructure is among the worst in Europe.”
Ceferin added Italian football’s biggest problem was “the relationship between the football authorities and politics”.
The tournament is due to be co-hosted with Turkey. In October, Italy has to name the five stadiums that will host matches, with 11 cities currently candidates: Rome, Florence, Bologna, Milan, Genoa, Verona, Bari, Naples, Turin, Cagliari and Palermo.
FA warns fixture pile-up could devalue cup competitions and hurt national teams
ShowFixture congestion risks harming England’s future World Cup chances and devaluing the FA Cup, the Football Association has warned.
The expansion of Uefa club competitions and the introduction of a 32-team Club World Cup has placed further demands on elite players.
The FA has already scrapped cup replays in a bid to alleviate the packed schedule, but admits there is a risk of domestic competitions being further devalued by the addition of extra international club tournaments.
“A significant challenge each season is to balance the development of the global competition calendar with the imperative of protecting player welfare,” the FA stated in its 2024-25 annual report, published on Thursday. “This task is complicated by the ambitions of competition owners to expand their events within an already crowded schedule.
“The ongoing discussions regarding future structural changes to the game, such as the introduction of new tournaments (eg FIFA Club World Cup), further intensify this challenge.
“These changes have the potential to significantly reduce the downtime available to elite players, affecting their recovery and overall well-being.
“Additionally, the introduction of more global competitions risks devaluing traditional domestic tournaments, such as the FA Cup, and may affect the performance of our national teams due to increased player fatigue and reduced time for international squad training. These factors could have financial implications for us.” PA Media
Italy can nominate new stadiums or ones which need to be redeveloped as long as works begin by March 2027. Only one, Juventus’s Allianz Stadium in Turin, is completely ready to host games at the tournament.
Inter and Milan recently purchased the San Siro from the city of Milan and are hoping to complete a new 71,500-capacity arena on the same site as the current stadium by 2031. However the sale of the land is being probed for alleged bid rigging by the public prosecutors’ office in Italy’s economic capital.
Roma were given the green light by the local authorities in Rome to build a new stadium in the east of the city, while Fiorentina’s Stadio Artemio Franchi is being redeveloped.
Last month the city of Naples presented a renovation project for the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, where Serie A champions Napoli play their matches. The Maradona project, which includes the elimination of the running track that borders the pitch, has a budget of €200m (£174m) and was presented by mayor Gaetano Manfredi as something that needing doing “regardless of 2032”.
Meanwhile, Italy’s football federation president has resigned, two days after the Azzurri failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. Gabriele Gravina’s departure could also lead to the exit of the Italy coach, Gennaro Gattuso.
