UEFA warns Milan and Naples over Euro 2032 host bid

UEFA has told Italy it remains on course to stage UEFA EURO 2032 alongside Turkey, while signalling that underperforming stadium projects could cost major cities their place in the final host roster.Michele Uva, UEFA’s executive director for UEFA EURO 2032, used an event in Milan to set out a timeline that effectively turns the next six months into a delivery test for clubs, municipalities and their financing partners.Uva said: “He is right, and he’s sent a clear message. We are working intensively, and I am convinced that Italy will host the European Championship with five stadiums. There are no delays, and we are perfectly in line with the planned roadmap. No alarmism.”He said Italy had “eight venues” with programmes that could still fit UEFA’s schedule, after what he described as an acceleration over the past six months.Uva added that the Italian football federation will pick five stadiums by mid-September to submit to UEFA, with host cities due to be ratified in the first week of October.The warning comes after UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin questioned Italy’s infrastructure readiness earlier this month, putting public pressure on a system where many top-flight clubs play in ageing, municipally owned venues.Čeferin said: “I hope infrastructure will be ready. Otherwise, the tournament will not be played in Italy.”Uva was explicit that reputational weight and market size would not guarantee selection, pointing to Milan and Naples as two of the most exposed cities if projects fail to meet requirements.Uva said: “If Milan does not build a new stadium, the tournament will take place without Milan. If the process slows down and if Milan, like Napoli, does not meet the requirements, they will not be included in the candidacy file.”Italian media reports cited in the coverage said Juventus’ Allianz Stadium in Turin is currently the only venue that meets UEFA’s requirements without further redevelopment, underlining how much of the bid depends on new builds or major refurbishments.In Milan, uncertainty continues around the future of San Siro, which has not passed a UEFA inspection, increasing the emphasis on a replacement venue as the commercial anchor for the city’s EURO plans.Milan and Inter have presented a new stadium project, and the clubs have moved to secure the wider San Siro area, although the agreement has come under investigation by Italian authorities, adding an additional layer of process risk.Italy’s Sports Minister Andrea Abodi pushed back on the idea that politics alone should carry the blame for delays, arguing that club-led models have driven modern stadium delivery elsewhere.Abodi said: “I give a respectful but firm response to President Čeferin. In other countries, infrastructure development has not been the result of public funding but of the initiative of clubs from an administrative standpoint, as well as of a culture of high-level sports facilities that differs from that in our country. Milan is a clear example of this.”Italy’s immediate commercial milestone is the federation’s mid-September shortlist, which will determine which projects move into UEFA’s final approval window ahead of the October ratification.