Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Leipzig apply to host Euro 2024
February 14, 2017
Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Leipzig have become the latest cities to apply to host matches should Germany win the right to host the 2024 European Championship.
The German Football Association (DFB) is on the hunt for ten host cities. Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Dortmund and Hamburg qualify automatically, whilst cities that possess stadia with a seating capacity of at least 30,000 have until this Friday to apply. The DFB will present the ten successful applicants on September 15.
The Nuremberg Stadium, home to German second division side 1.FC Nürnberg, has a total capacity of 60,000, including 50,000 seats. Stuttgart's Mercedes-Benz Arena, home to the 2007 German champions VfB Stuttgart, has room for 60,400 fans, including 50,000 seats.
Attendance record
Leipzig's Red Bull Arena, home to the newly formed RB Leipzig since 2010, is the only applicant from the former East Germany. Owners Red Bull announced in December 2016 their intention to expand the ground from its current 43,000 capacity to 57,000.
The stadium was built for the 2006 World Cup inside the bowl of Leipzig's original Zentralstadion - a ground which still holds the record for the highest football attendance in Germany, when over 100,000 fans watched the local derby between SC Rotation Leipzig and SC Lokomotive Leipzig in September 1956.
All eight cities named above were host venues in 2006 - the last time that Germany hosted a major football tournament. Not selected that time were Mönchengladbach and Düsseldorf - and the two have already joined their Rhineland neighbors in Cologne in applying for the right to host games in 2024.
Transparency
The 2006 "fairy tale" World Cup enjoyed huge success in uniting the entire country and presenting a new, modern Germany to the world, but has since been rocked by allegations of corruption. This time, DFB chief Reinhard Grindel has insisted on transparency.
"Germany will be submitting a world class application and will ensure that the ten possible host cities are selected in a transparent, comprehensive process," he said.
According to a survey carried out on behalf of BILD newspaper, the three most popular host venues among German fans would be the Allianz Arena (Munich), the Olympiastadion (Berlin) and Signal Iduna Park (Dortmund). Bottom of the list was Kaiserslautern's historic Fritz-Walter-Stadion, which also hosted games in 2006.