France see off Turkey to host Euro 2016
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.France will host Euro 2016 after finishing ahead of close rivals Turkey and rank outsiders Italy in a Uefa vote yesterday. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, appeared at the ceremony to see his country – who have also hosted two World Cups – awarded the tournament for the third time.
Sarkozy said that France wanted to host the event because of, rather than in spite of, the worldwide economic problems. "When I spoke to the French Football Federation, we asked ourselves whether we wanted to be candidates in the middle of a crisis," he told the ceremony. "But sport is an answer to the crisis. It is because we are in a crisis that we need sport. Nothing is more powerful than sport and, within sport, nothing is more powerful than football."
Turkey were bidding to host their first major football tournament, while Italy's chances had been written off after a critical review of their bid following Uefa's inspection visits.
Problems and delays in Poland and Ukraine, who will jointly host Euro 2012, may have played a part in persuading Uefa's executive committee to avoid choosing Turkey, an untried country. The Turkish government had promised to invest €1bn (£849m) in public money, in stadiums for the event. It would also have needed to spend an estimated €20bn on national transport infrastructure, including high-speed trains.
Meanwhile, Fifa announced yesterday that it will not carry out any further investigations into the Lord Triesman scandal. Fifa's ethics committee looked into comments made by Triesman – and secretly recorded – alleging that Spain could drop its 2018 World Cup bid if rival bidder Russia helped bribe referees at this summer's World Cup. However, the investigation found no evidence to support those claims, and the ethics committee will take no action against England's 2018 bid either.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments