Vienna (dpa) – From Munich to Berlin: The path of the German national football team to the hoped-for dream title at the home European Championship in 2024 is set.
The scintillating final will kick off in the capital on July 14, and the DFB team will play the tournament’s opening game on June 14 in the Bavarian metropolis. “The European Championship at home makes this major event an even more emotional event than a Euro already is,” said tournament director Philipp Lahm after the announcement of the game plan by the European Football Union UEFA.
The national team also contests its group matches as already qualified hosts in Stuttgart and Frankfurt/Main. The opponents and times will be determined in December 2023 in the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. «The announcement of the match schedule for the European Championship is a slightly different kind of kick-off. The moment we know who is playing who against whom, it starts to tingle,” said DFB Vice President Celia Sasic.
“Are already ready for the EM 2024”
Munich and Berlin form the same framework as at the Summer Fairy Tale World Cup in 2006. Even then, the pairing was “the ideal combination”, said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf. «Munich was a perfect host of the pan-European EM last year, the capital Berlin has a long tradition as the final venue. The Olympic Stadium offers the worthy setting for the DFB Cup final every year.»
Lahm spoke of a “special atmospheric setting” and the “dramaturgical tension” for the tournament. In 2006, the 2014 world champions scored 1-0 against Costa Rica in the opening game in Munich, and the DFB team won 4-2.
The two semi-finals will be held in Munich (July 9th) and Dortmund (July 10th). Hamburg and Stuttgart (both July 5) as well as Berlin and Düsseldorf (July 6) were chosen to host the quarter-finals. In addition to Frankfurt, other host cities include Gelsenkirchen, Cologne and Leipzig.
“We have outstanding football arenas in Germany that are already ready for the EM 2024,” said Neuendorf. «The preparations in the host cities and also in our national associations are underway. The tournament is now given a face with the game plan. That increases the anticipation even more. It is an important sign that for the first time the game plan is also decisively shaped by the idea of sustainability. »
Looking forward to the qualifying draw on October 9th
The DFB and UEFA emphasized the division of the venues into three “clusters”: north/northeast (Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig), west (Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Cologne) and south (Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart). This would “reduce the travel activities of the teams during the group phase” and enable short-distance transfers by bus and train.
«With the publication of the schedule, the tournament becomes more tangible. Together with the regulations approved by the UEFA Executive Committee, there are two pillars of the tournament organisation,” said UEFA Director Martin Kallen. “We have created a good basis together and can look forward to October 9th with great anticipation, when the qualifying draw will take place in the Festhalle in Frankfurt am Main and the teams will find out who they will be measuring against on the way to Germany.”
The DFB was awarded the tournament in September 2018, the opponent in the decision in Nyon was Turkey. At the last pan-European finals in summer 2021, Munich hosted three preliminary round games and one quarter-final. The Bavarian capital is also hosting the 2025 Champions League final.
“We are looking forward to a new summer fairy tale with a great atmosphere, full stadiums and exciting games. Berlin is proud to be able to host the final,” said Berlin’s Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey.
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