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April 8 – A 13-member delegation from UEFA has today began reviewing Turkey’s bid for Euro 2016 in Istanbul.
The first meeting between the UEFA delegation and officials from the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) was held at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace where TFF officials responded to questions from experts analysing their bid.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will hold a meeting with the UEFA delegation tomorrow at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.
TFF proposes in its bid that nine stadiums in eight cities will host matches if Turkey is picked to host Europe’s largest football event.
Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium, which will be renovated, and Galatasaray’s Türk Telekom Arena, which is expected to open next September, will be used, in addition to new stadiums to be built in six cities: Ankara, İzmir, Bursa, Konya, Antalya and Eskişehir.
Kayseri’s Kadir Has Stadium, which will also be renovated, will be another venue.
Around €1 billion (£874 million/$1.3 billion) has been allocated by Erdoğan for the construction of stadiums, and the country plans to invest €27 billion (£23 billion/$36 billion) improving the country’s overall infrastructure over the next six years regardless of the outcome of the bid.
President Abdullah Gül and Ministers and local authorities from the proposed host cities have also expressed promised that if Turkey is awarded the tournament then preparations for it will be top of their agendas.
In addition, several Ministers signed individual or joint documents expressing the commitment of respective Government departments to make sure preparations go smoothly.
Turkey’s rivals for the event, France and Italy, have both hosted the European Championships.
France were hosts in 1960 and 1984, and Italy in 1968 and 1980.
After completing talks in Istanbul, the UEFA delegation will proceed to inspect the facilities in France and Italy.
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