France Awarded Euro 2016 Ahead Of Italy & Turkey

Posted Saturday, May 29, 2010 by Goal.com

L'Hexagone will play host to European football's international showpiece...

Euro 2016 (Coupe de France final) (Panoramic)

France will host Euro 2016, UEFA announced at a press conference in Geneva at Friday lunchtime, beating off competition from Italy and Turkey for the right to stage the event, which will be the first European Championships to see 24 teams compete in the final stages.

The indications were going into the final round of voting that Turkey and France held a lead over the Italian bid, but it came as half a shock that the western European nation was given the nod, despite having tabled what they felt was a fine bid. In the end the vote was tight, with seven of the final votes going to France, and the remaining six in favour of Turkey.

“It's a great day for us,” FFF (Federation Francaise de Football) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes exclaimed to the press in the moments following the announcement.

President of the Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, appealed in the presentation process: “The French state is there. Everything we have said, we do. It's not the commitment of the Federation or the League, but the commitment of an entire people. All the French expect this event.

“If you give us the Euro 2016, you will enjoy it, and you will receive the best possible [competition].”

The French presentation began with a ten-year-old boy, Nathan, giving a speech regarding what his country hosting Euro 2016 would mean to him. Zinedine Zidane then followed with his recollections of Euro 1984, and how that competition inspired him.

There are already significant plans in place for l’Hexagone to upgrade several stadiums, and that work can now begin with the confidence that the tournament is coming to France.

Les Bleus have tended to be inspired when playing on home soil, winning both the European Championships of 1984 and the World Cup of 1998.