Turkey abandon Euro 2020 finals bid
Apr 25, 2014 3:52:00 PM
The European nation's withdrawal leaves the likes of England and Germany among those vying for the chance to host the last matches of the tournament
The Turkish Football Federation has abandoned its bid to host the final stages of Euro 2020, leaving cities like London and Munich among those fighting for the opportunity to climax the tournament.
The 16th staging of the competition will see fixtures spread across Europe, with around 30 associations expressing an interest in becoming one of the 13 hosts.
Matches are split into two packages - standard and finals - and the successful bidder for the latter will host both semi-finals and the final.
Turkey had originally expected to be among the countries vying for the more prestigious package but the country's FA has confirmed it will back out to focus on holding the entirety of Euro 2024.
Meanwhile, England is hoping to host the European Championship final 24 years after they last did and FA general secretary Alex Horne is confident England will be involved in some capacity.
"We are bidding for either of the two packages available and, with our recent experience of hosting two Champions League finals in the last four years, we believe that Wembley Stadium and London represent a strong bid for Uefa to consider," he said in a statement.
The German Football Federation has chosen to put Munich forward for both packages, while Italy, Belgium and Wales have opted instead to apply for matches in the earlier stages.
Spain and Ukraine are the other countries thought to be eyeing a bid for the finals, with Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belgium and Belarus having confirmed to Goal their intention to compete for a spot in the competition.
The full list of bidding nations is set to be announced on Saturday, though France - host of the 2016 tournament - and Switzerland will not be in the race for matches in 2020.
