Georgia and Romania have been selected to host the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
The decision was made yesterday by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Executive Committee.
Of course, this is another great victory of Georgian sports and recognition on the international level...Obviously, the Batumi arena, built in full compliance with international standards, played a big role in getting us the right from UEFA to host the European Championship,” Said Georgian Minister of Sports Mikheil Chkhenkeli.
The 2023 finals will be the second since the expansion to 16 teams after the 2021 competition in Hungary and Slovenia, says the UEFA.
The 16 qualified teams will be drawn into four groups of four for the final tournament, with the four winners and four runners-up in each section reaching the quarter-finals. There will be a standard knockout format from there,” reads the official website of UEFA.
The tournament is planned to be played at four stadiums in Romania (two in Cluj-Napoca and two in Bucharest) and four stadiums in Georgia (Batumi, Poti, and two in Tbilisi).
The opening match of the 24th championship will take place in Romania and the final will be held in Georgia at a newly built UEFA Category IV stadium in Batumi.
I am happy that our city, Poti, together with Tbilisi and Batumi, will host a tournament of a similar scale...The European Championship in Georgia and in our city means the development of football, great experience for our youth and new opportunities in the field of sports," said Irakli Khakhubia, a majoritarian MP of Poti, Khobi and Senaki.
Georgia hosted the 2017 U19 EURO while the 2015 UEFA Super Cup was played in Tbilisi, as were the 2013 UEFA Futsal Cup finals.