"Attack on the ball" - Russia, ready to take over the organization of EURO 2032

Russia is ready to step in to become one of the hosts of the 2032 European Football Championship if Italy is stripped of the right to organize the tournament alongside Turkey, due to problems with sports infrastructure, said the president of the Russian Football Federation, Aleksandr Dyukov, quoted by the Italian agency ANSA. Dyukov's statement, made to the website Sport.ru, comes at a delicate moment for the Italian organizers. UEFA has so far approved only one of the ten locations proposed by Italy, while several stadiums still do not meet the technical and logistical requirements imposed for major international competitions.

• A controversial scenario

The Russian official said that Russia has the necessary infrastructure to host such a large-scale tournament, citing the experience of organizing the 2018 World Cup. "We are logistically and technically ready to host EURO 2032, if UEFA considers that an alternative is needed. We have modern stadiums and recent experience in holding a global sporting event,” Aleksandr Dyukov said, according to the cited source. However, the prospect of Russian involvement in organizing EURO 2032 raises serious political and sporting controversies. The Russian Football Federation is under international sanctions, and Russian club teams and national teams are suspended from UEFA and FIFA competitions following the invasion of Ukraine. In this context, a possible return of Russia to the forefront of European football would require a major political decision and a significant relaxation of existing sanctions.

• Italy's problems: old stadiums, delayed upgrades

Italy, one of Europe's most prestigious footballing nations, is facing major delays in stadium upgrades. Many of the proposed venues for EURO 2032 date back to the 1980s and 1990s and require extensive reconstruction or reauthorization. While Turkey has proposed new stadiums built in the past decade, only the Turin arena has been approved by UEFA on behalf of Italy so far. The other venues, including Milan, Rome, Naples and Bari, currently do not meet accessibility, safety and capacity standards.

The Italian government has repeatedly announced that it will financially support the modernization of sports infrastructure, but bureaucratic procedures and local political disputes have delayed the start of work.

• UEFA, between diplomacy and logistical urgency

According to sources in the Italian and European press, UEFA is analyzing several scenarios for organizing the 2032 tournament. One possibility would be to award the entire competition to Turkey, which already has compliant stadiums and massive government support. In a recent statement, the European forum stated that it "is monitoring the progress of Italy's preparations and is working closely with the Italian Football Federation to ensure that the established calendar is respected.” Although UEFA did not directly comment on Dyukov's statements, sources close to the institution told the British daily The Guardian that "there are currently no official discussions regarding the inclusion of Russia” in any organizing project.

The possibility of Russia returning to the stage of organizing a continental tournament would represent a turning point for world football, still under the umbrella of geopolitical tensions. Although Moscow has the necessary infrastructure, accepting such a proposal would put UEFA in a delicate position, between the principles of solidarity with Ukraine and the pragmatic need for logistical solutions. For now, however, EURO 2032 remains a joint Italy-Turkey project, and UEFA seems determined to maintain this format. The coming months will be decisive in determining whether Italy can meet the technical and financial requirements assumed.