The European Championship in Albania, the AFL reveals the four selected stadiums

2023-09-22 16:18:00, Sport CNA

The Albanian Football Federation is waiting for an important news next week with the UEFA Executive Committee, which at the meeting on September 26 will consider the candidatures for the organization of the European U-17 Championship for the years 2025, 2026 and 2027 and the Championship European U-19 for the years 2026 and 2027.

As it has already been announced, the Albanian Football Federation has submitted its candidacy for hosting the finals of a European Championship for the ages U-17 & U-19, through a great work that has been done for more than 1 year to complete the application, at a time when the candidacy has been accepted by the relevant commission in UEFA. Hosting the finals of a European Championship in Albania would be a fantastic achievement for the AFL and Albanian football, not to forget the benefits that the country would benefit from in every aspect, from the income that this competition would generate in the local economy, the promotion of the country's image and the international media attention that a tournament of this magnitude would bring.

The organization of the finals of a European in fact surpasses without any doubt the extraordinary organization of the first historic final of the UEFA Conference League, AS Roma - Feynoord, last May in Tirana.

Referring to the application file, the AFL has predicted that the matches will take place in the "Air Albania Stadium", "Elbasan Arena", "Loro Boriçi" and "Arena Egnatia" stadiums.

These stadiums will host the group stage matches, the semi-finals and the grand final.

The European Championship in Albania, the AFL reveals the four selected stadiums

The "Air Albania" stadium is also the jewel of the sports infrastructure in Albania, inaugurated in November 2019 with a capacity of about 22 thousand seats and UEFA category 4. A facility that offers all the criteria to host high-level matches, with a natural grass field that has all the right facilities in all aspects, be it sports, security or media. It currently hosts the matches of the national teams as well as championship matches when the capital teams play.

The European Championship in Albania, the AFL reveals the four selected stadiums

The "Loro Boriçi" stadium in Shkodra was rebuilt from scratch in 2016, the pitch is natural grass and has a capacity of about 16 thousand seats. After "Air Albania" it is undoubtedly the best facility in Albania and it can also host important international matches, as it also meets all the criteria. It is one of the best infrastructural works in the north of the country and the home of the Vllaznia club.

The European Championship in Albania, the AFL reveals the four selected stadiums

The third, if only in terms of importance, is "Elbasan Arena", another stadium built from scratch in 2015 that has hosted historic matches of the National Team or even the Albanian championship. The facility has a field with natural grass and a capacity of approximately 13,000 seats. It is one of the first stadiums in Albania that was rebuilt after the 90s, offering modern conditions and meeting all UEFA criteria at the time.

The European Championship in Albania, the AFL reveals the four selected stadiums

Stadiumi i katërt i përfshirë në aplikim është “Egnatia Arena” i Rrogozhinës, i rindërtuar vetëm dy vite më parë me një kapacitet aktualisht prej 2400 vendesh, fushë me bar natyral, e që ka nevojë për disa ndërhyrje në mënyrë që të plotësojë të gjitha kriteret e kërkuara nga UEFA. Investimet sakaq janë parashikuar që të kryhen së shpejti.

Për pritjen e një kompeticioni të tillë gjithashtu kërkohen 8 qendra stërvitore me fusha me bar natyral, të cilat do të jenë në qarqet Tiranë e Durrës, për arsye të numrit të hoteleve me kushte specifike që kërkohen.

More specifically, the fields offered for the training of the finalist teams are the Football House, the "Selman Stërmasi" stadium, the "Skënder Halili" complex, the Kamza stadium, the "Tofik Jashari" stadium, the Tropikal complex, the "Niko Dovana" stadium and the Luzi i Vogël stadium. All these plants offer fields with natural grass, while in the case of obtaining the right to organize such a major tournament, the obligation to carry out some important additional investments in infrastructure also arises. In addition to the stadiums, interventions are especially needed in the training fields where, together with the central and local government, it will be necessary to invest in some of the above-mentioned plants.

At the moment, all attention is on UEFA, who can deliver great news for the AFL and Albania on September 26.