Football chief fears that outdated stadiums can cost Italy euro 2032 hosting

A football chef in Italy says that he fears that the country can be stripped of the hosting rights at the European championship in 2032 if an immediate step is not made to update stadiums.

Italy and Turkiye will organize the tournament in seven years, but although Turkiye has almost completely ready arenas and infrastructure after a huge national construction project in the past two decades, Italy has not done 10 stadiums or in planning a 24-team, 51 game tournament.

The situation was called «a pity» in May by the UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, and added that Italy had «by far the worst infrastructure» of the largest countries in Europe.

His words brought alarm bells according to Ezio Simonelli, the president of the administrative body of the Italian League.

«I am really worried about Euro 2032,» Simonelli said in an interview with the Italian state radio.

“Is the candidacy in danger? I hope it is just my concern, but when the President of UEFA says that our stadiums are in a comatose state and the euros will be in six years, we run the risk of not making a very good impression at international level.

«However, it is a shame that, beyond Udine, Bergamo and Turin, the rest of our stadiums are in a comatose condition. Ceferin has strongly criticized the Italian stadiums and I agree with him.»

Italy has to build and renovate an aging inventory of stadiums, but construction projects in the country, such as replacing the iconic San Siro in Milan and Stadio Olimpico in Rome, can be bureaucratic and slow.

«We are behind all the other countries,» said Simonelli. “In the last 18 years we have only inaugurated six stadiums, of which only three in Serie A. in the rest of Europe, 226.

«I am very worried. We press the government to streamline the procedure and thus silence the famous ‘not committees’ that never get anything done in Italy, and the authorities who are supposed to protect the cultural heritage.»

Udinese, Juventus and Atalanta are the only Series A clubs that have new or recently renovated stadiums. They own, crucial, their grounds, while many arenas in Italy are the advice.

The problem with San Siro emphasizes that the problems that clubs face. Inter Milan and AC Milan revealed plans to build a new stadium on the site in 2019, but delays and bureaucracy ensured that both clubs were looking for and find countries to build new home locations in the city.

In another complete change, however, the clubs seem ready to buy the San Siro and land from the Milan city council. But while this process is slowly moving forward, there is still discussion about the fate of the original San Siro.

San Siro was built in 1925 and has the largest capacity in Italy at 80,000. It will organize the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics 2026.

«I do not understand what kind of protection should be for a stadium like San Siro,» said Simonelli. “It’s a hundred years old, it was rebuilt in 1955 and there is a discussion about whether it was inaugurated before or after November. These are absurd things.

«It is a stadium that is no longer functional to play football and welcome people with dignity. You just have to go to San Siro’s bathrooms to realize this. A new stadium must be rebuilt, full stop, an end to all these meaningless diatribes.»

Published on August 25, 2025