Turkey turns to quest for hosting soccer's Euros after Champions League final -
Having newly re-elected state President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sit next to UEFA leader Aleksander Čeferin at the Champions League final in Istanbul on Saturday should only help before Turkey’s next two tournament bids are put to votes on Oct. 10.
“We absolutely would like to win the bid because we see that our country is always capable of organizing such big-scale events successfully,” Turkey Football Federation president Mehmet Büyükekşi told The Associated Press in Istanbul ahead of the final. That was before fans complained on social media about logistical problems getting to and from Atatürk Olympic Stadium.
Istanbul Airport opened in 2018 and is ranked top-10 globally on some metrics. Air travel would be needed for teams and fans when one host city, Trabzon, is more than 1,000 kilometers east of Istanbul. Turkey’s place in Europe was a factor in the campaign that led to its tightest and most frustrating loss from UEFA - the 7-6 vote won by France to host Euro 2016. Italy had been eliminated in an earlier round.
Turkey seemed sure to get Euro 2020 with public support from Platini, who met with Erdoğan in 2012. The insistence from Turkey also to pursue at the same time a 2020 Olympics bid, which ultimately failed, pushed UEFA to opt for a multi-nation tournament hosted across Europe. This run of losses, near-misses and sports politics missteps came after Turkey reached semifinals at Euro 2008 and the 2002 World Cup. As a soccer nation, it feels hosting a major tournament is due.
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