Football. UEFA singles out Italy for having stadia among the worst in Europe and threatens to withdraw Euro 2032

The president of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin, warned in the press on Thursday that Italy, co-host of Euro 2032 with Turkey, may no longer host the tournament due to the state of its stadiums, which he described as “among the worst in Europe”. “Euro 2032 is scheduled and will take place, that’s a certainty. I hope the (Italian) infrastructure will be ready. If not, the tournament will not be played in Italy,” Ceferin declared in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.

As he had done last May, the head of European football once again expressed regret over the condition of Italian stadiums. “Italian political leaders should perhaps wonder why Italian football infrastructures are among the worst in Europe,” he emphasized.

Also addressing the underperformance of the Nazionale, eliminated on Tuesday for the third consecutive time in the World Cup playoffs, Alexander Ceferin believed that “Italy is one of the most important countries in football and will return to the top”. However, he warned that “the most important problem with Italian football is the relationship between football policies and ‘normal’ policies”.

### Context:
– UEFA president Ceferin expressed concerns about Italy’s ability to host Euro 2032 due to the poor condition of its stadiums.

### Fact Check:
– Ceferin criticized the state of Italian football infrastructures and questioned the political leaders about the situation.

Eleven candidate cities

Italy was initially expected to designate the five stadiums that would host Euro 2032 matches in October 2026. Eleven cities/stadiums submitted their candidacy: Rome, Florence, Bologna, Verona, Milan, Genoa, Bari, Naples, Turin (Juventus Stadium), Cagliari, and Palermo.

However, two of these candidatures are based on stadiums that are yet to be built. In Milan, Inter and AC Milan have launched a project to build a new San Siro. Last month, the Rome City Council approved the construction, starting in 2027, of a stadium by AS Roma in the Pietralata district in the northeast of the Italian capital. But these projects may face delays due to a lengthy administrative process criticized by Serie A clubs and seen as a hindrance to the modernization of an outdated stadium park.