Stuttgart is amongst the ten cities named by the German Football Federation (DFB) in their application to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to host the 2024 European Championship finals. The DFB committee announced their decision during a press conference in Frankfurt on Friday.
The state capital and all at VfB Stuttgart are delighted about the decision. Lord Mayor Fritz Kuhn said: "The DFB have made a very good decision in choosing Stuttgart. We celebrated a wonderful festival of football here during the 2006 World Cup and recently during the international clash with Norway, the Stuttgart public presented themselves as fair, sports enthusiasts." Hopes are now high that UEFA opt for Germany as the host nation for EURO 2024. "Stuttgart will do everything its power to be a fantastic host for a wonderful sporting event," noted Kuhn.
"Great news for football fans in the region"
For Wolfgang Dietrich, President of VfB Stuttgart, the nomination of the Mercedes-Benz Arena as a host venue is "an excellent choice and great news for fans in the region." Wolfgang Dietrich continued: "The history of the DFB and the venue in Stuttgart is as inseparable as the connection between the success of the German national team and the number of its players who wore the jersey with the infamous red hoop during their course of their careers."
The UEFA Executive Committee will make their ultimate decision on who will host the EURO 2024 in September 2018. Upon a success for Germany, Stuttgart and the Mercedes-Benz Arena would become one of the match locations. Following the completion on reconstruction work on the Arena in 2011, the ground capacity is 54,000. The Arena is extremely accessible in Stuttgart thanks to connections with the airport, railway and the whole Stuttgart region.
Stuttgart was a hosting location for the World Cup finals in 1974 and 2006, as well as the European Championship finals in 1988.