Russia will apply to host the UEFA showpiece in either 2028 or 2032, according to an official
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Russia plans to launch a bid to host the UEFA European Championships in either 2028 or 2032, a member of the Russian Football Union’s (RFU) executive committee has said.
Rustem Saymanov, who is also general director at Rubin Kazan, told reporters of the federation’s intentions on Wednesday.
“The RFU is going to apply for the European Championships in 2028 and 2032, this is not a joke,” Saymanov said, according to TASS.
“Life goes on with us, we are open and ready, we should not be closed to UEFA and FIFA.
“We’ve held lots of competitions at a high level… There’s a lot of time, the situation will change, we will study everything.
“I can’t say about 2028, but in 2032 – yes [we’ll bid]. We have now asked for documents to study all the requirements, we will wait,” he added.
Any bid from Russia would come amid a ban from UEFA on all Russian clubs and teams participating in international and club competitions, which was jointly announced alongside global counterpart FIFA as a response to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
The RFU launched an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to try and overturn the rulings, which were upheld.
Before the ban, UEFA also moved this season’s Champions League final on May 22 from St. Petersburg to Paris.
However, these developments don’t seem to have put the RFU off from launching a bid to see the Euros on Russian soil after the country successfully hosted the well-received 2018 World Cup.
Due to the deadline for Euro 2028 hosting bids to be submitted expiring on March 23, Russian efforts would seem to be restricted to Euro 2032.
As there are no other known bids, the UK and Ireland are expected to be awarded Euro 2028 as part of an expedited process with a UEFA executive committee meeting on April 7 providing the chance to confirm the decision.
Russia would receive opposition from Euro 2020 winners Italy for the right to host in 2032, however, with an announcement made on who hosts both Euro 2028 and Euro 2032 expected in September 2023.
