Euro U21
Europe
The UEFA European Under-21 Championship is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's Under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the competition has also served as the UEFA qualification tournament for the Summer Olympics. In the Euro U-21, Italy and Spain are the most successful teams in the competition's history.
The competition, in its current form, has existed since 1978. Previously, this tournament's name was the Under-23 Challenge Cup, which ran from 1967 to 1970. Bulgaria won the inaugural Challenge Cup in 1967 with a 3-2 win over East Germany. A proper Under-23 Championship was then established in 1972. It was held three times in the same format, and the eight group winners qualified for the quarter-finals on a home-and-away basis. The semi-finals and Final were also held over two legs.
In 1976, at a UEFA Conference, they lowered the age from 23 to 21 for the 1978 tournament, and it has remained so ever since. In 1992, the UEFA European Under-21 Championship became the European qualifying competition for the Olympic football tournament. To be eligible for the Euro under-21, the player must be born in 2004 or later, many may be 23 years old by the time of the Final tournament. However, when the qualification process began, all players would have been 21 or under. The tournament's record attendance was set during the knockout stage between Georgia and Israel of the 2023 Euro U-21 edition. During the match, the live audience gathering was 44,338.
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The qualification for the UEFA Euro U-21 competition is open to all UEFA member associations. Teams initially compete in a qualifying group stage, with some joining the hosts in the finals and directly going through to the play-offs. The UEFA Euro U-21 Championship is initially drawn up by UEFA, before being submitted to the UEFA National Team Competitions Committee.
This is the 23rd edition of the Euro U-21. Many countries have hosted the Euro U-21 previously, from 1978 to 1992, the under-21 Euro was hosted by a home and away games fixture, but from 1994, UEFA changed some rules, and since then, a specific country has hosted the tournament. All the host countries' details are given below.
| Host Countries | Year | No of participating teams |
|---|---|---|
| Home and Away | 1978 | 8 |
| Home and Away | 1980 | 8 |
| Home and Away | 1982 | 8 |
| Home and Away | 1984 | 8 |
| Home and Away | 1986 | 8 |
| Home and Away | 1988 | 8 |
| Home and Away | 1990 | 8 |
| Home and Away | 1992 | 8 |
| France | 1994 | 8 |
| Spain | 1996 | 8 |
| Romania | 1998 | 8 |
| Slovakia | 2000 | 8 |
| Switzerland | 2002 | 8 |
| Germany | 2004 | 8 |
| Portugal | 2006 | 8 |
| Netherlands | 2007 | 8 |
| Sweden | 2009 | 8 |
| Denmark | 2011 | 8 |
| Israel | 2013 | 8 |
| Czech Republic | 2015 | 8 |
| Poland | 2017 | 12 |
| Italy | 2019 | 12 |
| Hungary and Slovenia | 2021 | 16 |
| Georgia and Romania | 2023 | 16 |
| Slovakia | 2025 | 16 |
| Albania and Serbia | 2027 | 16 |
Slovakia is all set to host to 2025 UEFA U21 Euros, UEFA has already declared all the venue details. However, this is the second time Slovakia is hosting the Euro U21. Let's take a look at the hosting stadiums and their locations.
| Stadiums | Cities |
|---|---|
| National Football Stadium | Brtaislava |
| Anton Malatinsky Stadium | Trnava |
| DAC Arena | Dunajska Streda |
| Nitra Stadium | Nitra |
| Sihot Stadium | Trencin |
| MSK Zilina Stadium | Zilina |
| Kosice Football Arena | Kosice |
| Tatran Arena | Presov |
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UEFA has not disclosed any information about the prize money. As of now, we can not give any information about the U21 Euros prize money.
The trophy is crafted by the craftsman on the Venetian Island of Murano, The UEFA Euro Under-21 Championship trophy stands 60cm tall. The central glass vase is finished with Brass, nickel, and 24-carat gold. The original trophy, which is used for presentation purposes, UEFA has kept throughout that time, and a full-size replica is awarded to the winning association. The finalist teams are awarded 35 Gold medals each, while the silver medals are for the runners-up.
Here is the list of the 2025 Euro U21 sponsors:
| Sponsors | Industry |
|---|---|
| Adidas | Sportswear |
| Alipay+ | Financial Services |
| Atos | IT |
| Carlsberg | Beverage (Beer) |
| Hisense | Electronics |
| Fortuna | Mining Company |
| Visit Qatar | Tourism |
| BYD | Electronics & Automobile |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is hosting the U21 Euro 2025?
Slovakia is hosting the Euro U21 2025 edition.
Which was the first country to host the UEFA Euro U21 tournament?
Romania was the first country to host the UEFA Euro U21 tournament.
Where will the U-21 Euro 2025 final be held?
Bratislava will host the U-21 Euro 2025 final
Has any country won the UEFA Euro U21 while hosting it?
No country has won the UEFA Euro U21 while hosting it.
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