Despite its isolation from the war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia wants to host the European Football Championship in 2028 or 2032. Russia has issued a corresponding declaration of intent, it is said.
Russia wants to apply to host the European Football Championship in 2028 or 2032. The country has issued a corresponding declaration of intent, said the head of the association, Alexander Dyukov, on Wednesday, according to the Tass agency. The association now has until April 12, 2023 to prepare the application.
Russia has experience in hosting major tournaments, Dyukov said. The country hosted the World Cup in 2018, in 2021 several matches of the European Championship were held in the metropolitan city of St. Petersburg.
Sergey Anokhin, a member of the Russian Executive Committee, also commented on Russia’s bid for the European Championship. Speaking to the Russian newspaper Sport Express, he said: “The Executive Committee has decided that we will apply to host the 2028 European Championship and Euro 2032.” Reports had already emerged last year that Russia might want to apply for a European Championship in the near future.
Uefa expresses itself in April
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for over a month. Russian teams and athletes were suspended by the relevant sports federations after the February 24 attack. The Russian national team has been banned from qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Regardless of this international isolation, the national football association now wants to land the next major sporting event.
The football associations of Great Britain and Ireland had previously submitted a joint application to host the 2028 European Championship. The European football union Uefa wants to announce the possible candidates at the beginning of April. The tournament is to be awarded together with the 2032 finals. Italy is being discussed as a host.