"Dear football fans, dear finalists,
A warm welcome to Slovakia for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals!
It’s a true pleasure to see the tournament return to this picturesque country at the heart of Europe, which hosted one of the most unforgettable editions back in 2000. That year, we witnessed the rise of future legends like Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard, and Xavi Hernández – just a few of the many stars who began their journey on this stage.
Over the years, these finals have been graced by some of football’s most incredible talents. But more than individual brilliance, the tournament celebrates teamwork, determination, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. It brings nations together and inspires the next generation of players. Most of all, it shows us how the youth continue to shape the future of our game.
I sincerely thank the Slovak Football Association and its president, Ján Kováčik, for their exceptional dedication and warm hospitality across our eight vibrant host cities. They have laid the groundwork for what promises to be a truly spectacular tournament.
To all the teams, I wish you good health, peak performance, and unforgettable moments here in Slovakia. May this championship be remembered for its passion and its quality.
And may the best team win!"
"Dear football friends,
The UEFA European Under-21 Championship will be the biggest sporting event in the history of Slovakia to be held across the entire country. I want to emphasise the word “entire”, because the best players, rightly referred to as “future stars”, will be in action in eight Slovak cities, which are evenly spread from west to east and from north to south. For the Slovak Football Association (SFZ) to organise such a tournament, two conditions had to be met:
1. Fundamentally improve the football infrastructure, which we have managed to do in a quite remarkable way, so that within one decade we have provided more than 20 new or reconstructed elite-level stadiums.
2. Gain the necessary experience to host UEFA final tournaments, which we successfully did in 2013 (U17), 2016 (WU19) and 2022 (U19).
We see the U21 EURO as a great opportunity to show that even a small country can organise it in such a way that once it is over, it will be looked back on with appreciation by everyone involved – participants, fans, professionals and the general public."
