Lega Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo warns if Italy do not get their stadiums up to code by October 2026, they risk ‘losing the EURO 2032 host games we were assigned.’
The Peninsula has been given co-hosting duties with Turkey for the 2032 edition of the European Championship.
Originally, Italy had hoped to stage the tournament by itself, but the sheer inability of the red tape to break down and let clubs or local councils reconstruct the arenas made that practically impossible.
Now De Siervo warns even hosting half the games in the competition might be beyond them if there is not a rapid sea-change in the way this issue is dealt with.
“If our stadiums are not brought up to code by October 2026, we risk losing the EURO 2032 host games that we were assigned,” said the Lega Serie A chief at the Festival della Serie A in Parma.
“The matter of stadiums is crucial and we cannot afford to fail. We are down to the last chance because by October 2026, UEFA will verify our arenas.
“At this moment, we do not want to apportion blame, but we must prove that we are united and find the economic resources and responsibility that we need. The infrastructures must not be built just for big events, but always.”
Stadiums a long-standing problem in Serie A
Among the clubs desperately trying to get their stadiums either reconstructed or built from scratch are Milan, Inter, Fiorentina, Napoli, Roma and Lazio, but many of these situations have been dragging on for decades.
Fiorentina are even taking the local council to court, complaining that the promised funding to get the Stadio Artemio Franchi improved has not come through yet.
These are all clubs who want to invest in building the arenas themselves, but are largely blocked from doing so by the local authorities, who want to retain control over the sporting structures.
De Siervo also seemed to aim a sideswipe at newly-promoted Como, who will have to play their initial home games elsewhere next season.
“Many Serie B clubs do not invest in their stadiums, perhaps also over the fear of bringing bad luck, but this just ends up creating problems when they do climb into Serie A. They have to play their first games in other arenas while they get their own venues restructured.”