Euro 2024 / The glitz and the bet

It took a full 36 years for a European Football Championship to return to Germany, despite the fact that they have the advantage of having won the most of the tournament, three in number, together with Spain. Of course, the days of the World Cup intervened, but this year the Euro returns to the country for the first time since 1988. The then West Germany hosted the tournament for the first time 28 years after France’s historic first event and after the German National Team had already conquered twice the title of champion, in 1972 when they prevailed in the final of the Soviet Union 3-0 and in 1980 when they defeated Belgium 2-1.

This year, for the first time, a city from the former East Germany will play host, namely the emblematic stadium of Leipzig, the Central Stadium, a stadium with a name as heavy as history and which was built from the rubble of the city caused by the bombing of the Second World War. Of course, it is now called the Red Bull Arena and can not accommodate 110,000 spectators, but only 42,000, but if this choice is a synthesis of the past of this country with the present and the future, no one can ignore it.

Euro 2024 will be the 17th tournament since the first European Championship was held in 1960, five years after the death of its founder. This was none other than the Frenchman Henri Delaunay, an old footballer and referee who had the original idea for a European championship since 1927, when he was the deputy president of FIFA. But this idea took a long time to turn into practice, as … the priority was the World Championship.

The first… innocent years

It was not until June 1957, when similar competitions had already started on other continents, such as the Copa America in South America, the Copa Africa in Africa and the Cup of Nations in Asia, that the UEFA member states also decided to organize a European Championship. In fact, of the 31 members of UEFA only 14 voted for the proposal, which met with a strong reaction from the four British federations. Eventually, it was decided to hold the championship every four years under the name “Henri Delaunay” Nations Cup, in honor of its originator, who had been dead since 1955.

In the first tournament, the final phase of which was hosted by France, only 17 countries took part, while the strongest teams in Europe were absent. Not participating were the four British confederations (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), 1954 world champions West Germany, 1958 World Cup finalists Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands. On the contrary, the Greek national team showed up, only to be eliminated after losing 7-1 in the first match against France, while in the second game they drew 1-1. The first winner was the Soviet Union, beating Yugoslavia 2-1. The success of the event and the appeal it had among the fans resulted in the participation of all UEFA member countries in the second European Championship.

In the time of fear and insecurity

Of course, everything has changed since those early years of the European Championship, both in terms of the competitive aspect and the system of conduct, as well as in terms of socio-political conditions. The European Championship 2024 is hosted in the… center of “united” Europe, in the most powerful Germany, but the geopolitical reality is not suitable for creating a climate of carelessness and football celebration. The Germans’ aim is to transform their cities into festive football oases and they are working towards this, however the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the continued conflict in Ukraine and the so-called threats of a terrorist strike by ISIS force them to create a strong veil security, which of course cannot but affect the big football party. Almost daily is the need to reassure government officials that they have absolute control of the situation and that everything will run smoothly. The “big picture”, however, again shows the peoples of Europe being locked in, curtailing their freedoms at the altar of security.

Germany loves football and is sure to put on a successful tournament, but what remains to be seen is whether it will come through the football games and the pro-underdog messaging. However, regarding the genocide in Palestine, it is almost certain that no support movements will be supported, unless they come from fans of other national teams.