Russia launches Euros bid
Russia has submitted a declaration of interest to host the UEFA European Championships in either 2028 or 2032, according to the football governing body.
UEFA confirmed the development in a short statement on Wednesday evening, with Turkey also planning to launch a bid to host the competition in the same years. A joint British and Irish bid has been lodged for 2028, while Italy is also in the running for the 2032 edition.
Russian media reported the country was planning such a move earlier on Wednesday after comments made by a member of the Russian Football Union's (RFU) executive committee.
Rustem Saymanov, who is also general director at Rubin Kazan, told reporters of the federation's intentions, saying "the RFU is going to apply for the European Championships in 2028 and 2032," according to TASS.
“Life goes on with us, we are open and ready, we should not be closed to UEFA and FIFA.
“We've held lots of competitions at a high level… There’s a lot of time, the situation will change, we will study everything.
“I can’t say about 2028, but in 2032 – yes [we’ll bid]. We have now asked for documents to study all the requirements, we will wait,” he added.
The declaration of interest from Russia comes amid a ban from UEFA on all Russian clubs and teams participating in international and club competitions, which was jointly announced alongside global counterpart FIFA as a response to Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
The RFU launched an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to try and overturn the rulings, but was unsuccessful.
Before the ban, UEFA also moved this season's Champions League final on May 28 from St. Petersburg to Paris.
However, these developments haven't put the RFU off from launching a bid to see the Euros on Russian soil after the country successfully hosted the well-received 2018 World Cup, as well as seven matches at the pan-continental Euro 2020 tournament.
As there were no other firm bids approaching the March 23 deadline, the UK and Ireland were expected to be awarded Euro 2028 as part of an expedited process with a UEFA executive committee meeting on April 7 providing the chance to confirm the decision.
The UK and Ireland will now receive opposition from Russia and Turkey in separate bids for 2028, with UEFA also mentioning that Euro 2020 winners Italy want to host in 2032.
An announcement made on who hosts both Euro 2028 and Euro 2032 will be made in September 2023, UEFA stated.
