Italy’s bid for the 2032 Men’s Euro football tournament took another step forward on Monday 7 November with the signing of a very official letter of support from the government. It was initialled by the new Minister for Youth and Sport, Andrea Abodi. The document confirms the full support of the Italian authorities for the project. It assures that the government will facilitate the implementation of the written guarantees of the public authorities, at national, regional and local level. It also states that a working group will be set up to coordinate the activities of the organising committee. According to Andrea Abodi, the Euro football tournament in 2032 could serve to accelerate the ecological transformation of sport in Italy, especially for stadiums and equipment, but also to strengthen the competitiveness of football at international level. The government’s letter of support will be added to the bid file submitted by the Italian Football Federation. It must be submitted to UEFA by March 2023 at the latest, with a decision expected in September of the same year, at the same time as the host country or countries for the 2028 edition is announced. At this stage of the process, Italy is in competition with Turkey, which is also interested in hosting Euro 2028. Russia had expressed an interest in hosting both 2028 and 2032, but its dual bid was not accepted by UEFA because of its invasion of Ukraine.
