The 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2027) will be the 26th edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (29th edition if the Under-23 era is also included), the biennial international youth football championship organised by UEFA for the men's under-21 national teams of Europe. The tournament will be hosted by Albania and Serbia. A total of 16 teams will play in the final tournament. Players born on or after 1 January 2004 are eligible to participate.
As with previous Under-21 Championships held one year prior to the Olympic Games, this tournament will serve as European qualifying for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Four eligible teams will compete for qualifying for the men's football tournament of the 2028 Summer Olympics, where they will be represented by their under-23 national teams with a maximum of three overage players allowed.
Albania and Serbia – On 9 May 2024, Albania and Serbia confirmed their intent to bid together.[1][2][3][4] Albania originally wanted to bid alone, however the stadium requirements for the tournament led the Albanians to find a partner.[1] In an interview, Albanian federation president, Armand Duka said that, prior to choosing Serbia, Albania had first contacted the football federations from Kosovo and North Macedonia for a potential co-host, although this failed to materialise as both nations did not meet the requirements.[5][6] He followed by saying that of the other bidders at the time, the federation chose Serbia over Belgium and Turkey.[7] The opening match would be in Tirana and the final would held at the National Stadium in Belgrade if built in time.[8][9]
Protests
This bid has generated a considerable amount of controversy in both nations due to both nations' mutual dislike of each other, their relationswith Kosovo, as well as others matters. Back in October 2014, both nations played a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier game in Belgrade, which was eventually abandoned after 42 minutes following several incidents and a pitch invasion during the match.[10] Both the Serbian and Albanian football federations have been fined numerous times due to fans displaying politically motivated banners about Kosovo and each other.[11][12][13] On 20 May 2024, an Albanian fan group protested by spraying paint and gluing photos in front of the offices of the federation.[14] In response, Kosovo announced a huge revamp of their stadiums after the news of the joint bid.[15] Albania's most capped player, Lorik Cana, has also criticised the bid.[16][17] However, former politician Milaim Zeka supported the bid.[18] Fan groups in Albania and Kosovo have both said they are strongly against the bid.[19][20]
On 26 September 2024, UEFA announced that Albania and Serbia were the sole bidders.[22] The host was set to be decided by the UEFA Executive Committee on 16 December 2024, however the selection delayed to February 2025 whilst awaiting security guarantees.[23] On 4 February 2025, Albania and Serbia were given the hosting rights.[24][25][26]
Venues
Contrary to original reports saying that Belgrade will host the final,[27] UEFA announced on 4 February 2025 that the National stadium in Tirana will host the final, with Serbia hosting the opening match in Novi Sad.[24]
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Albania and 
Serbia – On 9 May 2024, Albania and Serbia confirmed their intent to bid together. [1] [2] [3] [4] Albania originally wanted to bid alone, however the stadium requirements for the tournament led the Albanians to find a partner. [1] In an interview, Albanian federation president, Armand Duka said that, prior to choosing Serbia, Albania had first contacted the football federations from Kosovo and North Macedonia for a potential co-host, although this failed to materialise as both nations did not meet the requirements. [5] [6] He followed by saying that of the other bidders at the time, the federation chose Serbia over Belgium and Turkey. [7] The opening match would be in Tirana and the final would held at the National Stadium in Belgrade if built in time. [8] [9] 
Belgium [2] (withdrew due to mounting security challenges) [8] [21] 
Turkey [2] (withdrew due to mounting security challenges) [8] [21] 
