The summer of 2024 is ready for a series of competitions of the highest order in the world of sports, starting with football. The European Football Championship, commonly known as the ‘Euros’ is set to take place in Germany from June to July 14th. The 24 teams of the European continent who successfully gained the participation spot in the qualification stage will compete in the initial round of 6 groups, and then in the knockout stages all the way through the final round. The total prize money for Euro 2024 is more than €300 million, with the maximum possible amount that a single team can receive in case of victory in the final set at around €30 million. It is worth mentioning that the participation in the tournament itself is worth €10 million for the teams, and this is a considerable sum especially for the smaller football federations.
At the same time, the similarly established America Cup is about to take place on the other side of the Atlantic. Known as the ‘Copa America’, the continental competition traditionally involves for the majority teams from South America, with the addition of North and Central America teams since the 1990s. The tournament will be held in the United States, where there is a lot of excitement already for the upcoming FIFA world cup in 2026 that will take place across three countries: United States, Canada, and Mexico. In the US, football still has much less popularity than other major sports such as (american) football, basketball, baseball, and hockey. Therefore, elite competitions like the Copa America and the World Cup are the best channel to increase the following and domestic interest in the world’s most popular sport.
With the Euros, Germany will host its first major football tournament since 2006, when it was home to the World Cup. This is an exciting prospect for football fans, mainly because the tournament is played in central Europe and it is once again held exclusively in one host country. In recent times, such as in 2021 with the European tournament delayed by one year, several countries hosted the games across the continent. The European football’s governing body (UEFA) expects the Euros to generate more than €2.5 billion from broadcast and sponsor deals, ticket sales, hospitality packages and licensing agreements. Beneficiaries from this are the UEFA itself, which will use the proceeds to fund its work and development grants for future projects and tournaments, and the German Football Federation (DFB), which will invest in football projects across the country, such as academies for the development of young players and facilities around stadiums and training centers. Tomorrow Euro 2024 begins and as tradition wants it, Germany will feature in the opening game.
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