The third consecutive absence from the football World Cup in 2026 is a heavy blow for Italian football and a system that cries out for comprehensive reforms, both on a technical level and in terms of outdated infrastructure.
The hosting of the European Championship in 2032, which Italy will organize together with Turkey, represents a golden opportunity to initiate infrastructure projects that have mostly remained at the level of plans since the World Cup in 1990, writes Goal.com, reports Index.
Turkey advances, Italy stands still
While Turkey has significantly upgraded its facilities, from Vodafone Park in Istanbul to Yeni Hatay Stadium in Antakya, the future of Italian stadiums remains uncertain. Only the Allianz Stadium in Turin, home of Juventus, seems to meet modern standards.
Along with Juventus, they also have their own stadium Udinese, Atalanta and Sassuolo. Milan and Inter announced plans to build a new stadium to replace San Siro, Roma presented a project in Pietralata, and Lazio in Flamini. Although Cagliari is also making some progress, all these projects are still only on paper, and work has not yet started on any of them.
A race against time and warnings from UEFA
Although there are six years left until the European Championship, that is not considered enough time to complete all bureaucratic procedures and build new stadiums. President of UEFA Alexander Ceferin issued a stark warning to Italy following their 2026 World Cup play-off exit against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Your football infrastructure is among the worst in Europe. I expect you to put it in order, otherwise there will be no championship in Italy, said Ceferin. There is a real danger that Turkey becomes the sole host of the competitiongiven that Italy currently has only one stadium that meets UEFA standards and needs five more.
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The candidate cities must provide the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) with evidence of the progress of the works by July. The association will then start talks with UEFA about the selected stadiums in the autumn, while the actual start of construction should follow in March 2027.
The fight for money and political solutions
It is in front of Italy a real race against timebut also the struggle for supremacy between the football association and the government. Success depends on the creation of new sources of income that have yet to be realized, starting with fees from sports betting, estimated at around 200 million euros per year.
This money would enable the development of infrastructure, including training centers. Progress is also expected in tax incentives for investors and the creation of an investment fund for turning sports infrastructure into a profitable asset.
As a concrete step, the Italian Minister of Sports Andrea Abodi announced that the Court of Auditors had appointed a special commissioner, an engineer Massimo Cis. His task is to ensure that the five required stadiums are ready within the deadline set by UEFA.
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