Despite the current UEFA ban: Russia has declared its readiness to host Euro-2032 in football
The 2032 European Championship is to be held in Italy and Turkey, but there are fears in football circles that the Italian stadiums will not meet modern requirements. The President of the Moscow Football Federation Oleksandr Dyukov, in a comment to Sport. ru, said that Russia is ready to host the tournament if Italy refuses. "Italy has a problem with stadiums. If they lose the opportunity to organize the tournament, we are here," Dyukov said.
He added: "Russia is ready to host Euro 2032 instead of Italy. " Despite the disqualification of Russia from all international tournaments after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow continues to appeal for the successful hosting of the 2018 World Cup. Their previous bids to host Euros 2028 and 2032 were not even considered due to the war, but the current statements suggest an attempt to return to European football.
UEFA President Alexander Ceferin previously admitted that Italy has the "worst infrastructure" among the continent's leading football nations. The president of the Italian football league, Ezio Simonelli, has expressed serious concern about the country's lagging behind in modernizing sports arenas. "When the president of UEFA says that our stadiums are in a comatose state, and the Euros are six years away, we risk not making a good impression on the international stage," said Simonelli.
He also added that Italy has only opened six new stadiums in the last 18 years, three of them in Serie A, while the rest of Europe has built more than 200 arenas in that time. "We are putting pressure on the government to simplify the procedures and overcome the resistance of the bureaucracy that blocks any updates," Simonelli concluded. As a reminder, Russia has been under FIFA and UEFA sanctions since 2022.