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12/03 09:56 CST Germany picked by UEFA to host 2029 Women's European
Championship
Germany picked by UEFA to host 2029 Women's European Championship
By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
NYON, Switzerland (AP) --- Germany will host the 2029 Women's European
Championship.
UEFA voted Wednesday for the Germany bid in a three-candidate contest, opting
for the promise of record revenue and attendances with the national team
playing in sold-out stadiums in Munich and Dortmund.
Germany's eight-city project for an expected 16-team, 31-game Women's Euros
beat Poland and a co-hosting bid by Denmark and Sweden.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said it was "heartbreaking" that any of the
three bids should lose before he pulled Germany's name out of the envelope to
announce the winner.
A large German soccer federation delegation posed for team photos at UEFA
headquarters then all pulled on white national-team jerseys with the number 29
on the front.
Switzerland set a tournament record attendance hosting Euro 2025 in July with
total crowds of more than 650,000 at an average of 21,000 per game.
Germany expects to draw more than one million spectators to stadiums also in
Cologne, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Hanover, Leipzig and Wolfsburg.
"We think we can fill the stadiums because women's football has had such a
great development in the last few years," German bid leader Heiko Ullrich said.
A German-hosted Women's Euros can aim to make a profit after UEFA budgeted to
subsidize the Swiss-hosted tournament with 25 million euros ($29.1 million).
This German win means that within a generation, from 2006 to 2029, the country
will have hosted men's and women's World Cups for FIFA and men's and women's
Euros for UEFA.
UEFA opted for the bigger numbers promised by this Germany bid after succeeding
with a more intimate Women's Euros hosted this year by Switzerland.
The Denmark-Sweden bid offered a similar level of sold-out smaller stadiums
while Poland looked to speed its progress toward being a women's soccer power
in Europe.
Germany also was seen as a safe bet for an expanded 24-team tournament that is
expected in the future but which would be a greater challenge to the other
bidders Wednesday.
It is unclear if UEFA could yet fast-track that expansion for the 2029 edition
in Germany.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
