Following another failure to qualify for the World Cup, Italian football now faces a new potential crisis concerning its role as a co-host for the UEFA Euro 2032 tournament.
As the nation continues to process its recent World Cup disappointment, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has issued a stark warning. In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Ceferin indicated that Italy could be stripped of its co-hosting rights for Euro 2032 if its football infrastructure fails to meet the expected standards for the major event.
Ceferin confirmed that the tournament, which Italy is scheduled to co-host with Turkey, is «planned and will take place.» However, he emphasized the critical need for improvements: «I hope the infrastructure will be ready. Otherwise, the tournament will not be held in Italy.» He then directly challenged Italian politicians, questioning why the country currently possesses «one of the worst football infrastructures in Europe.»
Italy is mandated to nominate five host stadiums by October. Of the eleven cities that have put forward bids—Rome, Florence, Bologna, Milan, Genoa, Bari, Naples, Turin, Cagliari, and Palermo—only Juventus’s stadium in Turin presently satisfies all UEFA requirements. For new stadium constructions or significant renovations to be considered, work must commence by March 2027.
Milan’s New Stadium Plans Encounter Challenges
Across Italy, several stadium projects are either underway or facing hurdles. In Milan, leading clubs Inter and AC Milan have acquired the San Siro site from the city, with ambitions to complete a new 71,500-seat arena on the same location by 2031. Nevertheless, the land sale is currently under investigation by the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office due to suspicions of bid rigging.
Meanwhile, in Rome, local authorities have granted AS Roma approval for the construction of a new stadium in the eastern part of the capital. Fiorentina’s Stadio Artemio Franchi is also undergoing renovation. Additionally, last month, the city of Naples unveiled a €200 million renovation project for Napoli’s Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, a project Mayor Gaetano Manfredi underscored as necessary «regardless of 2032.»