Ready for World Rugby U20, European U19 Football Champs:
Georgia unveils 20 new stadiums

Georgia is gearing up to host two major global sporting events next year by laying the foundation for new rugby and football fields and hosting Europe’s top football official – the newly-elected president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) in capital Tbilisi.

In 2017 cities across Georgia will host the UEFA Under 19 European Football Championship and the World Rugby Under 20 Championship.

Today the Government unveiled its ambitious plans to meet world expectations for the two high-profile events.

High officials revealed 20 new football and rugby fields will be built in Tbilisi, Rustavi and Kutaisi over the next year to bolster sporting infrastructure used in the two top tournaments. 

A rendering of a planned project of seven new football and rugby pitches in Tbilisi within the Governmental project for new sports infrastructure. Image from the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs of Georgia.

Georgia has proven it can host top international sporting matches, after it successfully hosted the UEFA Super Cup final in Tbilisi last year.

The game was attended by the highest number of people having ever been to a Super Cup match, where 51,490 football fans flocked to Dinamo Arena – one of the venue’s to host next year’s rugby and football tournaments.

Georgia was granted the right to host the U19 European Football Championship in January 2015, and several months later the country received the honour of being the host of the World Rugby U20 Championship.

From left to right: Georgia's Sport Minister Tariel Khechikashvili, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and Georgian Football Federation President Levan Kobiashvili lay a symbolic capsule marking construction of new sports infrastructure in Georgia. Photo from Sport Ministry’s press office.

The new football and rugby grounds will be used as training grounds for teams participating in the football and rugby competitions, while major stadiums in Georgia’s largest cities will host the matches.

The €9.4 million (about $10.5 million/24.5 million GEL*) project was initiated today within the Tbilisi visit of a high-ranking delegation from UEFA.

The delegation was led by newly-elected UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who laid the symbolic capsule marking the beginning of the construction project with Georgia’s Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Tariel Khechikashvili and president of the Georgian Football Federation Levan Kobiashvili.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin met Georgia's Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili in Tbilisi earlier today. Photo from the Government of Georgia’s press office.

Ceferin also met Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili in capital Tbilisi earlier today.

Georgia was the first country Ceferin visited since he was elected UEFA president on September 14. Through his election, he became the seventh president of European football's governing body.

Kvirikashvili congratulated Ceferin for winning the UEFA election before the two sides discussed matters related to Georgia's hosting of next year’s U19 European Football Championship.

At the meeting officials also talked about the Georgian Government's five-year program for local football, which included creating professional football clubs, building new infrastructure and developing conditions for football in schools.

The U19 European Football Championship will be held from July 2-15, 2017. The World Rugby U20 Championship will take place in June next year.

* Currencies are equivalent with the latest National Bank of Georgia exchange rate.