Austria will bid to host the U21 European Championship in 2029. ÖFB supervisory board chairman Josef Pröll announced this as part of a study presentation on the economic importance of football.
The supervisory board unanimously approved 100,000 euros for the project on Friday. The tournament will probably be awarded by UEFA in 2027.
Since the men’s European Championships in 2008, which were held together with Switzerland, no European finals have taken place in Austria.
Pröll: “We take the application very seriously”
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Pröll said: “We want to position ourselves seriously and tackle the project; we take the application very seriously.”
The project will be set up quickly and external support organized. The 2029 finals will be held with 16 participants and will probably require six to eight stadiums.
Vice world champion vintages would be in action in 2029
According to Bernhard Neuhold, managing director of ÖFB Wirtschaftsbetriebe GmbH, it is expected that UEFA will submit the application documents this year. Then there will be clarity about which countries are still running for this tournament.
Neuhold expects a decision before the U21 European Championships in 2027, which will take place in Albania and Serbia in about a year and a half.
If Austria were to win the contract, the ÖFB cohorts that became U17 runners-up last November would be in action in 2029.
Rangnick extension: talks “very positive”
Aside from the U21 application, Pröll also commented on a possible contract extension for A team boss Ralf Rangnick.
“I reported to the supervisory board that there are discussions that we can intensify at any time. We will inform the public when a decision has been made.”
Pröll described the discussions with Rangnick as “very upright and very positive”.
Boycott the 2026 World Cup?
Regarding the question of a possible boycott of the men’s World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, which has been raised by some European politicians, Pröll explained:
“I advocate clearly and clearly for political events and their political consequences to be kept in politics. Sport should be seen separately from this.”
