Italian symbols may disappear in the emblem of the World Cup 2032 // Photo: givemesport.com
The tournament organizers have until October 2026 to submit 10 cities that will host matches of the World Cup – five each in Italy and Turkey. UEFA is concerned about the condition of most of the arenas presented by the Italian Football Federation in the preliminary list. According to Calcio e Finanza, only one of the proposed arenas currently meets all modern requirements – Allianz Stadium in Turin, where Juventus plays its home matches.
According to UEFA requirements, Italy and Turkey must provide seven or eight arenas with a capacity of 40,000 fans, one or two with 50,000 seats and another stadium with 60,000 seats for the final. The four soccer venues in Italy are of an appropriate scale. In addition to the aforementioned Allianz Stadium, they are San Siro in Milan, Stadio Olimpico in Rome and Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples. UEFA said that only the stadium in Rome will meet all the requirements to host such a large-scale tournament after a small renovation.
At the famous stadium “San Siro” (official name “Giuseppe Meazza”), which is home to clubs “Milan” and “Inter”, this summer were to begin modernization work. The local authorities blocked the start of the work, citing the San Siro’s status as a cultural heritage site. This led to the fact that UEFA decided to deprive the stadium of the right to host the Champions League final in 2027. And the organizers of the Winter Olympics, which will be held in February 2026, are forced to look for another venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games.
Given the complexity of the situation around the San Siro, UEFA has proposed that the Italian side start construction of a new stadium in Milan by spring 2027. If this is not officially announced by October 2026, Milan will definitely not be included among the cities eligible to host the World Cup.
The management of the Napoli club, which uses the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona arena, has announced its intention to build a new stadium with its own funds, which would allow Naples to become one of the host cities of the championship. The club has run up against bureaucracy. Municipal authorities in Italy are reluctant to grant permits for clubs to build new arenas, as they risk losing revenue from the rent (including for music concerts) of venues they own. New venues owned by clubs would deprive them of this source of income.
Italy is significantly behind other soccer powers when it comes to opening new arenas. According to the consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers International Ltd, only six soccer facilities were built or upgraded in Italy between 2007 and 2024. During the same period, Germany opened 19 new arenas, England 13 and France 12.
The state of soccer stadiums in Italy was in the field of vision of high-ranking functionaries. Thus, UEFA president Alexander Ceferin called the existing infrastructure in the country “terrible”, and the situation – “a national disgrace”. He called for immediate action, as, according to him, it is necessary to think not so much about holding major international tournaments, but about the future of Italian soccer in general. Ceferin cited the example of Albania, which is not known for its great achievements in soccer, but has made great progress in modernizing its infrastructure.
Unlike Italy, Turkey has the capacity to host the World Cup on its own. The preliminary list presented by the Turkish organizers includes 10 stadiums: three arenas are located in Istanbul, and one each in Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Gaziantere, Konya, Trabzon and Eskisehir. Five of them meet the most modern UEFA requirements, the other five Turkey can modernize within five years.
Istanbul has hosted the finals of the Champions League, European Super Cup. It was in this city in 2009 that the final of the last ever UEFA Cup took place, and next year it will host the final of the successor tournament – the Europa League (the meeting will take place at the Beşiktaş Stadium).
If the Italian authorities do not find a compromise with the clubs willing to invest in the construction of new arenas, the four-time world champions and two-time European champions will be put in an uncomfortable position, which will oblige them to refuse to host the continental championship and will hit the reputation of Italian soccer very hard.
