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Euro 2016

May 28, 2010

France carried the day over rival candidates Italy and Turkey for the honor of hosting the 2016 European Soccer Championship, also making it the first country ever to hold the event three times.

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The European soccer trophy superimposed over a map of the three candidate countries
France edged out Italy and Turkey to host the Euro 2016Image: DW/AP

The French bid for the Euro 2016 was chosen in Geneva in a secret ballot by the executive committee of UEFA, the European soccer federation. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former national team star Zinedine Zidane supported their country's bid in a presentation to UEFA.

The outcome is not surprising in light of the fact that, prior to the vote, Michel Platini, the French president of UEFA, had made no bones about his preference for France as the venue.

The 2016 event will be the third time France has staged the finals after 1960 and 1984. France also hosted the World Cup in 1998.

France has promised to invest some 1.7 billion euros to build four new stadiums in Bordeaux, Lyon, Lille and Nice and renovate eight others before selecting nine venues to host the 51 matches, which are held over a one-month period.

The 2016 tournament will also see the number of teams taking part rise from 16 to 24.

Ukraine and Poland are co-hosting the next European soccer championship in 2012.

gb/dpa/AFP/AP

Editor: Kyle James

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