As much of Europe fumes over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Moscow is vying to host the European Football Championship in 2028 or 2032.
Despite its teams being banned from participating in games by the Union of European Football Associations last month, the Russian Football Union opted to file a bid to host either of the two championships, but the UEFA is reportedly mulling options to thwart the bid.
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“We are going to file a bid for hosting of the 2028 and 2032 European Championships,” RFU board member Sergei Anokhin told Match TV, according to Reuters. He did not specify when they will file the bid.
Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, Russia is likely to face an uphill battle in its efforts to host either of the tournaments. European countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, and Sweden announced last month that they would refuse to play against Russian soccer teams.
Russian teams were banned by FIFA and the UEFA from playing last month due to the invasion, but the bans did not prohibit the country from hosting. UEFA is planning to deliberate over the prospects of allowing Russia to host the championships.
“No suspension of the Football Union of Russia was imposed at that time,” UEFA told ESPN in a statement. “The UEFA Executive Committee will nevertheless remain on standby to convene further extraordinary meetings … to reassess the legal and factual situation as it evolves and adopt further decisions as necessary, including in light of the declaration of interest expressed by the Football Union of Russia for hosting the UEFA EURO.”
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Russia is joined by England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Turkey in declaring interest in hosting the 2028 championship, while Italy and Turkey have declared their interest in hosting the 2032 championship. The host country will be decided by September 2023, according to UEFA.
The 2024 championship will be hosted by Germany. Russia previously hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2018.
