Euro 2016 candidate Turkey introduces logo

Turkey will submit its bid to host the European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2016, the third largest sporting event after the Olympic Games and the soccer World Cup, and will wage campaigns until May 27, 2010, the day before the host country is decided by UEFA, the top soccer authority in Europe.

The cities and stadiums planned to host the organization will also be announced. While Fenerbahçe’s Şükrü Saraçoğlu and Beşiktaş’s İnönü stadiums were kept out of the plans for failing to comply with necessary criteria, the Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadium and the Türk Telekom Arena, the construction of which is still under way, will host the soccer games if Turkey is selected. In addition to İstanbul, the provinces of İzmir, Konya, Antalya, Bursa, Eskişehir and Ankara will also host games during the event in the event of Turkey’s selection.

State Minister Özak said in his inaugural remarks that as the government, they will fully support the event, which is critical for the promotion of the country. “Having made its mark on the world and European soccer since the mid-1990s, Turkey is one of the leading countries which is open to success and development. Therefore, investments in soccer are highly valued.”

Orhan Gorbon, the coordinator of the Euro 2016 Committee, said that 2.2 million people follow the championship in stadiums, with 6 million following it on the streets through giant screens. About 5 billion follow the competition on television and 1.2 billion on the Internet. A total of 51 games will be played in Euro 2016 and each city will host at least four games.

Having been a candidate to host the 2008 and 2012 European Football Championships, Turkey will compete with Italy and France, who have both hosted the event twice, to host Euro 2016.


/Todays Zaman/