EURO 2024 awarded to Germany
Yet again, Turkey misses out on the chance to host Euros.
Last week UEFA announced that Germany will host the European Football Championship of 2024. The votes were 12-4 in favour of Germany and at the cost of Turkey. This continued Turkey’s string of bad luck, as the country has never organized a large football tournament before. Previous attempts to get the European Championship in 2008, 2012 and 2016 failed, as well as their bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
‘One of the reasons Turkey remains unchosen is because of its unstable situation in the past few years.’
The last time Germany organized a big tournament was the 2006 World Cup, which was a major success. The Germans have proved their organizational skills and most of the stadiums are already finished. The last time a European Championship was held in Germany was in 1988. EURO 2024 will be played in 10 cities: Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund, Hamburg, Leipzig, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Munich. Berlin will host the final of the tournament.
One of the reasons Turkey remains unchosen is because of its unstable situation in the past few years. An earlier UEFA report expressed concern that the Turkish Government did not have a clear plan to improve its human situation. The report also claimed that the host cities do not have the capacity to welcome a substantial influx of people, in terms of hotels and infrastructure. Furthermore, many stadiums would need rebuilding. Despite human rights violations being used as an argument against Turkey, they did not seem to be a problem when FIFA awarded the 2022 Football World Cup to Qatar. In Qatar, a country without a real football culture, migrant workers face systematic exploitation and abuse, including in the construction of the World Cup stadiums. Unfortunately for Turkey, where football is very popular, it will have to continue its wait for the opportunity to organise a European Championship or World Cup.
