2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Tournament details
Host countries	Albania (expected) Serbia (expected)
Dates	June 2027
Teams	16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	TBD (in TBD host cities)
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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.

As with previous Under-21 Championships held one year prior to the Olympic Games, this tournament served as European qualifying for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Four eligible teams competed 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.

Bidding process

So far, such bids have been reported:

•   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 didn't 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' dislike of each other in relation to Kosovo and others matters. Back in October 2014, both nations played a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier in Belgrade, which would later be abandoned after 42 minutes due to several incidents and a pitch invasion during the match, which led to its abandonment. On 20 May 2024, an Albanian fan group protested by spraying paint and gluing photos in front of the offices of the federation. ^[10] In response, Kosovo announced a huge revamp of their stadiums after the news of the joint bid. ^[11] Albania's most capped player, Lorik Cana, has also criticised the bid. ^{[12] [13]} However, former politician Milaim Zeka  [ sq ] supported the bid. ^[14] Fan groups in Albania and Kosovo have both said they are strongly against the bid. ^{[15] [16]}

Withdrew

•   Belgium ^[2] (withdrew) ^[8]
•   Turkey ^[2] (withdrew) ^[8]

On 26 September 2024, UEFA announced that Albania and Serbia were the sole bidders. ^[17] The host is set to be decided by the UEFA Executive Committee on 16 December 2024. The selection of the hosts was delayed to February 2025. ^[18]

References

1. "U-21/ Shqipëria në garë për të pritur finalet e EURO . FSHF dorëzon kandidaturën në UEFA". FSHF. May 9, 2024.
2. "Albania, Serbia Plan Joint Bid for 2027 European Youth Football Tournament | Balkan Insight".
3. Braho, Enrik (May 9, 2024). "Shqipëria bashkohet me Serbinë, futen në garë për të pritur finalet e Euro për 21-vjeçarët".
4. "РТС :: Фудбал :: ФС Албаније: Са Србијом поднета кандидатура за Еуро У21 . године". www.rts.rs.
5. "Duka: Për organizimin e Evropianit njëherë folëm me Kosovën e Maqedoninë". September 29, 2024.
6. "Duka for the European with Serbia: Co-candidacy is an important factor - KOHA.net".
7. "Presidenti Duka: Organizimi i Kampionatit Europian U-21 është vetëm një event sportiv, Shqipëria përfiton shumë - FSHF".
8. S, Z. "Finale EURO 2027. na Nacionalnom stadionu!". Politika Online.
9. "Srbija i Albanija domaćini EURO-a U21: "Čisti fudbalski projekat s vrlo dobrom političkom porukom" - SportSport.ba".
10. "Shqipëria dhe Serbia bashkë për Euro2027, Tifozat Kuq e Zi derdhin bojë të kuqe para zyrave". joq-albania.com.
11. "Until the "Albania - Serbia" European Cup, Kosovo will have at least four modern stadiums - KOHA.net".
12. "Slavni Albanac ne vjeruje Srbima ni kad darove nose: "Nisu iskreni, Duka ne zna s kim ima posla" - SportSport.ba".
13. "Bivši fudbaler protiv zajedničke organizacije EURO 2027 Srbije i Albanije: Sumnjam u njihovu iskrenost za bilo kakvu saradnju - Sport - Dnevni list Danas". September 30, 2024.
14. https://tpz.al/aktualitet/europiani-u-21-organizimi-ne-shqiperi-dhe-serbi-milaim-zeka-ti-leme-p-i263759
15. https://www.koha.net/en/futboll/tifozat-kuq-e-zi-me-reagim-te-zbehte-per-evropianin-e-perbashket-te-shqiperise-e-serbise
16. https://kosovapress.com/en/article?id=564798
17. "In the Serbian Federation, they declare for the European Union with Albania: We promote the values of Serbia - KOHA.net".
18. https://www.slobodenpecat.mk/sv/povekje-nema-dilemi-srbija-i-albanija-zaednichki-kje-organiziraat-evropsko-prvenstvo/