BRATISLAVA (SFZ) 16th of October – Exactly 238 days left to the beginning of the European Under-21 Football Championship 2025 in Slovakia, one of the greatest sport events in the Slovak history. Football fans can look forward to 31 matches. Raising football stars in the under-21 category will present themselves in eight Slovak stadiums, i.e. in Bratislava, Trnava, Nitra, Dunajská streda, Trenčín, Žilina, Košice, and Prešov.
“We can look forward to the greatest sport event in 2025 and one of the greatest sport events that have ever been organized in Slovakia. It is the third greatest championship organized by UEFA. The event is exceptional for the number of up to 16 participants. In the past, there were 8 and then 12 teams participating on the UEFA Under 21 Championship in this age category. Since 2021, 16 teams have been participating on the Under 21 Championship, but it is the first time when a single country is hosting a final championship with sixteen participants. UEFA have expressed their great confidence when they entrusted us with organizing the European championship,” said Ján Kováčik, President of the Slovak Football Association.
“It is the greatest appreciation of our ability to build sufficient infrastructure in the previous years for being able to organise such a great championship as a single country. It is absolute maximum regarding the premises we have at our disposal,” added Ján Kováčik.
The representatives of the Slovak Football Association who, together with the representatives of UEFA, participate on preparation of the final championship, also presented the schedule of matches in Bratislava today. Each of the eight venues of the championship can look forward to at least three matches.
“The group stage matches are scheduled from the 11th to 18th of June 2025. The A group including the Slovak national team shall be played in Bratislava and Trnava. The B group matches will be hosted by Dunajská Streda and Nitra, the C group teams will be welcomed in Žilina and Trenčín, and the D group matches will be played in eastern Slovakia in Košice and in the new stadium in Prešov,” explained Peter Palenčík, General Secretary of the Slovak Football Association.
For the next elimination part, the two best teams will qualify which should play quarterfinals in Trnava, Dunajská Streda, Žilina, and Prešov on the 21st and 22nd of June. Semifinals are scheduled for the 25th of June in Bratislava and Košice. The top event of the UEFA Under 21 Championship in Slovakia will be the football match in the National Football Stadium in Bratislava on the 28th of June.
“Qualification for the final championship culminated with the matches played yesterday. Qualification with the 52 participating countries in total resulted in the football elite to be introduced in Slovakia. Along with the members of our national under-21 team whose participation is granted since they are citizens of the organizing country, England, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Italy, and Ukraine qualified for the European championship. The remaining three play-off positions will be fought for by Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Georgia, Croatia, and Norway. The play-off draw is scheduled for no later than tomorrow 17 October 2025 at noon. The matches as such are scheduled for the 11th and 19th of November when all final players will be already known,” added Peter Palenčík.
One of the goals of the organizers is to attract to the stadiums as many fans as possible and to create the best conditions for our under-21 members of the national team as well as for the other teams fighting for the European Champion title. Taking into account attendances at the previous editions of championships in this age category, the total attendance at the final championship could reach more than 300 thousand of fans. More than 100 million of spectators are watching the event on their TVs which is more than, for example, the number of people watching the cycling race Giro d´Italia or the Eurovision Song Contest.
“Our main goal is to have full stadiums and to create perfect atmosphere so every visitor can enjoy football and the entire event. The ticket prices set upon a qualified survey as well as our consultations with the representatives of UEFA were also adapted thereto,” explained Lukáš Donoval, Marketing Director of the Championship.
“Ticket prices for the basic group matches start at the sum of EUR 12. Tickets for quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be available for EUR 16 and tickets for the final will cost EUR 20 in the second class and EUR 25 for a ticket in the first class. We have prepared significant discounts for families with children. Children younger than 15 have the entry discount of 50%, indeed,” explained Donoval.
Due to a great interest among the fans, the organizers have also planned advance ticketing within which those who are interested can buy their tickets for an event, but the opponents will not be known until the final draw of the championship, i.e. until the 3rd of December of this year. The advance ticketing for registered users starts no later than on the 22nd of October 2024 and one can still register at under21.futbalsfz.sk. The advance ticketing both for the registered and non-registered users starts on the 29th of October. General sale will start the day after the Final Draw on 3rd of December 2024.
One of the important questions relating to the organization of the European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia is whether the stadium in Prešov will be completed before the event. As confirmed by Mária Berdisová, Director of the Organizational Committee, the construction proceeds as planned: “Prešov will host some matches. The stadium was also visited by the representatives of UEFA during their inspection visit at the end of September and they were satisfied with the course of the works. The representatives of UEFA were also glad that pitches in the stadiums of Trenčín and Žilina had been reconstructed too, because this was also one of the conditions for hosting such an important event as the European Championship.”
“In the coming period, recruitment of volunteers will be important for us as well. They are a consistent part of every great sport event. Enthusiastic and willing people can help and become a part of the historical moment in the Slovak sports. For a seamless provision of everything required by such a great championship, we need more than one thousand of volunteers,” added Mária Berdisová.
Volunteers can register through a registration form on the championship website under21.futbalsfz.sk. They can choose from among a plenty of positions from assisting particular national team selections to helping organize matches to assisting a transmitter or helping organize varied programs in the prepared fan zones to be found by the fans in each of the eight hosting sites near the stadiums.
18th November - The last Play-off match – known finalists
3rd December 2024 - FINAL DRAW – UEFA U21 EURO 2025 draw
4th December 2024 - Starting the ticket sale (upon the approval by UEFA)
