100 days until the start of the Euro in Germany

(Patria) - In exactly 100 days, the European Football Championship will begin in Germany, writes Deutsche Welle.

The hosts are hoping for a new "summer fairy tale". How are the preparations going? What is the mood in Germany? What about the security aspect during the tournament?

Which teams are participating?

Today marks exactly 100 days until the start of the European Football Championship. Currently, the names of 21 out of 24 teams that will participate in the tournament in Germany are known.

The hosts have automatically qualified. Twenty teams have earned their place through qualifying group competitions.

And soon, after the play-offs, we will know the remaining participating countries. Twelve national teams are competing for one of the three "visas" for Germany - Poland, Estonia, Wales, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel, Iceland, Ukraine, Georgia, Luxembourg, Greece, and Kazakhstan.

At the end of March, three mini-tournaments will be played, deciding the last three teams to qualify for Euro 2024.

Tournament Format

The format of the 2024 European Championship is identical to the format of the 2020 continental championship. Thus, the teams will be divided into six groups (four teams each).

The top two teams, along with the four best third-placed teams, will qualify for the round of 16.

Matches will be played in ten German stadiums. They will start at 3 PM, 6 PM, and 9 PM Central European Time (UTC+2).

Germany and Scotland will open the championship on June 14 in Munich. The final will be played exactly one month later at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.


Security is the biggest concern

Euro 2024 in Germany is taking place in politically very difficult times. Because of this, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin admitted in an interview with the English newspaper Telegraph that for him, "security is the biggest concern".

The Slovenian, as he said, has already met twice with the German Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, and says he is confident that in the end, with the support of the German authorities, who are "very determined to help us", everything will be fine.

The tournament's security concept was presented in January at the National Coordination Committee for Euro 2024 - and received broad support.

State Secretary in the German Ministry of the Interior, Juliane Seifert, told the German Press Agency (dpa) that the security of the tournament will be a priority for the Ministry of the Interior and the federal government.

- It is clear to us that we live in very challenging times, especially when we look at Russia's war against Ukraine, or when we see the war in Gaza, or when we see new challenges, for example, cyberattacks - added Seifert.

In the DFB, the situation seems to be assessed much more relaxed.

- I hope that this European Championship will have a positive effect, especially in people's minds. As for security, I can tell everyone that no one needs to worry about it - said DFB Director Andreas Rettig to the SID agency.

However, the potential qualification of Israel or Ukraine for Euro 2024 could still result in a significant intensification of security measures in Germany.