FFF Announce 9 Cities to Stage Euro 2016 Matches
May 23, 2011
The nine cities that will stage games during the 2016 UEFA European Championships have been announced by the French Football Federation (FFF).
Two minor surprises saw Saint-Etienne and Toulouse lose out after being named as reserve locations. Bordeaux, Lens, Lille, Marseille, Nancy, Nice, Paris and Saint-Denis were selected, as was Lyon, which took a major step forward last week in plans to build a new 60,000-seat stadium in the suburb of Decines-Charpieu when the project was put forward for public consultation.
Lyon’s stadium will be one of four new facilities built for the tournament, with stadia also set to be built in Bordeaux, Lille and Nice. The northern town of Lens was chosen for Euro 2016 matches despite its club being relegated to Ligue 2 this season.
FFF president Fernand Duchaussoy stated: “All the bids were of a very, very high standard, but the choice was very clear and decided at the first round of voting.”
Euro 2016 will be the first edition of the European Championships to feature 24 teams, increasing from 16 after next year’s Championships in Poland and Ukraine.