An exciting month of football awaits fans at Euro 2024. But the tournament also poses a massive security challenge for Germany, with terrorism and ongoing conflicts increasing the threat level.
Germany's Interior Ministry has said there will be a heightened police presence around Euro 2024 matchesImage: Emmanuele Contini/Imago Images
Advertisement
Football fans at Euro 2024 can expect to experience the full gamut of emotions as their teams bid for glory in Germany. However, the stakes are much higher off the pitch.
With 51 games taking place in 10 cities and attracting millions of viewers, the tournament's profile and scale make it both a major challenge to security forces and an attractive target for agitators.
"Everyone is going to look at Germany during those couple of weeks when we have the championship here," Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project told DW.
"That means our adversaries are going to try to do whatever they can to disrupt this."
Fears of a terrorist attack on the Euros have increased since an attack on a concert hall in Moscow earlier this year claimed by an offshoot of the so-called "Islamic State" group left 145 people dead. A threat subsequently published in an IS propaganda magazine suggested the Euros tournament was a target. Still, Schindler said the public nature of that threat makes it less likely that a coordinated attack is planned.
"You don't advertise your complex attacks," he explained. "What you try to do with this is send out propaganda to make the security forces on those locations more nervous than they would normally be and hopefully, from their perspective, motivate some individual actors to do something."
A similar call to action during this season's Champions League knockout stage did not lead to any incident.
Threat of a 'lone-wolf' attack
Germany has been the target of a "lone-wolf" attack before. In 2016, a man who had pledged allegiance to IS drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 13 people. And in May, a knife attacker at an event in Mannheim left a police officer dead and five other people injured. Authorities believe the suspect had Islamist motives.
Schindler sees this kind of incident as the biggest threat for Germany.
"What remains really tricky is to figure out someone who you don't have on your radar, who is simply radicalizing by himself or within his group of friends, and then decides to take a knife and go to a fan zone and knife some people down," he said.
Euro 2024: Players who could have played under other flags
For many players, there is no question when it comes to which country they want to represent internationally. For others, it's not so clear-cut, with some having more than one alternative to choose from.
Image: Joeran Steinsiek/Steinsiek.ch/IMAGO
Jamal Musiala
Jamal Musiala faced the difficult choice between his native Germany or England, where he spent most of his youth from the age of 7. Nine years later, the Chelsea academy product moved back to Germany to join Bayern Munich. It was here that he chose Germany over England, although he had worn the Three Lions at various youth levels. He made his debut for the Nationalmannschaft in March 2021.
It's hard to imagine superstar Kylian Mbappe wearing any other national team's jersey than that of France's Les Bleus, but he also had the choice of two other countries. Through his Cameroon-born father, he could have chosen the Indomitable Lions or, through his mother's Algerian origin, the Fennec Foxes. However, he has only ever represented France, both at junior and senior levels.
Image: FRANCK FIFE/AFP
Mateo Retegui
Mateo Retegui is a relative newcomer to Italy, having been born and raised in Argentina. He made his professional debut in 2018 at the Boca Juniors. After loan spells at three other Argentine teams, he moved to Italy, the land of two of his grandparents, to join Serie A outfit Genoa. Being eligible to represent Italy through descent, he made his debut for the Azzurri in March 2023.
Image: Giuseppe Maffia/IMAGO
Callum Styles
Callum Styles doesn't sound like your typical Hungarian name, and yet internationally he wears the colors of the Magyarok. Born in Greater Manchester in England, Styles may not have had what it takes to be chosen for the Three Lions, but he could also have chosen Ukraine, as he has both Hungarian and Ukrainian grandparents. He made his debut for Hungary in a friendly against Serbia in March 2022.
Image: Zac Goodwin/PA Images/IMAGO
llkay Gündogan
Born in Gelsenkirchen, llkay Gündogan broke through with Dortmund before moving on to Manchester City and now Barcelona. Ahead of the 2018 World Cup, he along with fellow Germany player Mesut Özil met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, sparking controversy in Germany. While Özil retired from the national team shortly after the World Cup, Gündogan has stayed true to his native Germany.
Image: Urbanandsport/NurPhoto/IMAGO
Lamine Yamal
Lamine Yamal made his first team debut for Barcelona at the age of just 15 years and 9 months in April 2023. Six months later, he made his senior debut for Spain at 16 and 50 days, scoring against Georgia in a 7-1 win — becoming Spain's youngest-ever player and goal scorer. Spain's gain is both Morocco's and Equatorial Guinea's loss, as he could have represented either due to his parents' origins.
Image: Xavi Urgeles/ZUMA Press Wire/IMAGO
Jeremie Frimpong and Memphis Depay
Jeremie Frimpong (left) is just embarking on his Dutch national team career, while Memphis Depay (second from right) is a mainstay for the Oranje and within striking distance of his 100th cap. Through his father, Memphis theoretically could have chosen Ghana. Amsterdam native Frimpong is also of Ghanaian descent — but also had a third option, as his family moved to England when he was 7.
Image: Koen van Weel/ANP/IMAGO
Romelu Lukaku
Still just 31, the well-traveled Romelu Lukaku (right) spent the past season on loan at Roma from Chelsea. He first represented Belgium at under-15 level and debuted for the senior men's side in a friendly against Croatia in March 2010. Since then, he has become Belgium's all-time top goal scorer with 83 in 114 appearances. He chose Belgium over his parents' native Democratic Republic of Congo.
Image: Giuseppe Maffia/IMAGO
Hakan Calhanoglu
Hakan Calhanoglu is one of the German-born players of Turkish origin who decided to represent the land of his parents. The Mannheim native first represented Turkey at under-16 level and made his debut in the full national team in September 2013. The 30-year-old has never played for a Turkish club, having started out in Germany and then moving on to Serie A, where he now plays for Inter.
Image: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images
Rafael Leao
Rafael Leao (center) was born outside of Lisbon and came up through the Sporting CP system before making his senior debut for the club in February 2018. Through his parents, he could have chosen Angola or Sao Tome and Principe, but this never seems to have been a serious consideration. Now 24, the winger represented Portugal at various youth levels before making his senior debut in October 2021.
Image: Fabrizio Carabelli/ZUMA Wire/IMAGO
Josip Stanisic
Josip Stanisic (right) is but one example of German-born descendants of guest workers from the countries of the former Yugoslavia who face a tough choice. Stanisic made two appearances for Germany's under-19s, but by the time he advanced to U21 level, he had had a change of heart, choosing to represent the Vatreni of his forebears. In 2021 he made his debut for Croatia's senior men's team.
Image: Laci Perenyi/IMAGO
Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri
Both Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri have more than 120 caps for Switzerland, and both started out at Basel. Something else they share: in theory, both could have chosen to represent Albania, as did Granit's brother Taulant — due to their Kosovo-Albanian heritage. Shaqiri was even born there. After Kosovo was accepted into FIFA in 2016, they even would have had a third country to choose from.
Image: Joeran Steinsiek/Steinsiek.ch/IMAGO
12 images1 | 12
On matchdays, stadiums in Germany will have multiple layers of security. Only people with tickets or those accredited will be allowed to enter an arena, and bag searches and body pat-downs will be conducted outside amid a large police presence.
Fan zones are a more complex challenge. They attract huge crowds, with government figures predicting up to 12 million people will visit fan zones, compared to 2.7 million in the stadiums. The lack of ticketing also makes it harder to control who enters the area.
"It's very clear that fan zones are the classic definition of a soft target for terrorism," said Schindler.
"Fan zones cannot be an afterthought in the security concept. They need to be at the same level of security in your planning. However you physically implement that, they need to have the same priority as the actual games."
Advertisement
Authorities have done their homework
While the idea of an attack is a worrisome prospect for fans, these are threats that authorities have been preparing for.
A national security concept has been developed for the Euros, which will see Germany implement border checks for arrivals from fellow Schengen countries during the tournament. A special police center will coordinate relevant security information from around the continent, while 300 officers have been drafted in from other countries to advise local forces.
"The security of the European Championship in our country is a top priority. All the security services are preparing to the highest professional standards," said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. "At all of the venues, and wherever there are large numbers of people, there will be a strong police presence."
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is confident Germany has done everything possible to ensure a safe Euro 2024Image: Frederic Kern/Geisler-Fotopress/picture alliance
Russia's war in Ukraine also makes the security situation more complicated. The Ukrainian national team qualified for the tournament, while Russia remains suspended by UEFA.
"There is going to be an enormous amount of propaganda in Russia against the Ukrainian team," said Schindler. "I would expect the chances to be quite good that there is going to be a demonstration wherever the Ukrainian team is housed, whenever the Ukrainian team is playing."
Schindler feels a digital attack is more likely than a physical one.
"Obviously, the cyber realm is a threat. It is an active battle zone now," he said.
"Will Russia be willing to go so far as organizing violence? I'm sure they wouldn't mind if someone else does. But I'm not sure if they're there yet to actually actively try to instill violence in Germany."
'We invite everyone to be our guests'
Overall, Schindler believes fans should feel relaxed about traveling to the tournament as long as they contribute to its smooth operation.
"You do not have to worry that this is a death trap that you're walking into. This is well-organized, this is well-protected," he said.
"But it does require a little bit of participation on your side. Don't be violent, don't be stupid, don't be naive. If you see something, say something."
Interior Minister Faeser echoed that sentiment.
"Of course, there are risks, and we have to recognize them," she said. "We are doing everything we can to avoid terrorist attacks and other things. We are doing a great deal for security. And we invite everyone to be our guests."
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
The Euro 2024 stadiums
Germany hosts Euro 2024 from June 14 to July 14. The tournament is being being held at 10 venues, with the final to be played in Berlin.
Image: Arno Burgi/picture alliance / dpa
Berlin
Berlin's Olympic Stadium is something of a German Wembley. Originally constructed for the 1936 Olympic Games, it has been the home of Hertha Berlin since 1963. The stadium has hosted the final of the German Cup, the DFB Pokal, since 1985 and was also the venue for both the 2006 World Cup final and 2015 Champions League final. Its next major final will be on July 14 for the Euros.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Lang
Munich
It may look like a UFO has landed next to the motorway in Munich but it is in fact the home of German giants Bayern Munich since 2005. Its outer scales light up red when Bayern are at home and can be lit up in the national colors when Germany plays here. Built for the 2006 World Cup, it will host the Euro 2024 opener on June 14 and one of the semifinals.
Image: DW/A.Götzmann
Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund's stadium, still known by many fans as the Westfalenstadion, is the biggest football ground in Germany with a total capacity of 81,360 – although this will be reduced to just 62,000 for the Euros. In the 2006 World Cup, Germany were beaten in the semifinal here by Italy and it will host the other 2024 semifinal.
Image: picture-alliance/SvenSimon
Leipzig
Leipzig, the city where the German Football Association (DFB) was founded in 1900 and home to the first ever German champions, VfB Leipzig, in 1903, is also represented. The new arena was built ahead of the 2006 World Cup inside the bowl of the historic Zentralstadion. In 2010, it was renamed and became the home of RB Leipzig. Three group games and a round-of-16 match will be played here.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
Cologne
Built on the foundations of the old Müngersdorfer Stadion, Cologne's stadium was built for the 2006 World Cup. The four corner pillars light up the night sky. Cologne's home ground will have a capactiy of 43,000 for the Euros. Four group stage matches and a round of 16 game will be played here during Euro 2024.
Image: picture-alliance/ULMER
Gelsenkirchen
Schalke's home stadium sits atop a hill in the north of Gelsenkirchen. Now named after a beer producer, it can accommodate 50,000 for the Euros. Its retractable roof can come into play during bad weather. The arena was a World Cup venue in 2006. It is also used to host other events like concerts, and is another ground that will host three group games and a last-16 clash at the Euros.
This ground, like so many in Germany, has carried a string of sponsors' names in recent years. But now it's back to its original title, that roughly translates (Volksparkstadion) as the People's Park Stadium. Opened in 2000, the stadium can has a capacity of 49,000 for the Euros and will host a quarterfinal as well as group-stage games.
Image: picture-alliance/HOCH ZWEI/P. Szyza
Frankfurt
It's no surprise that the stadium in Frankfurt made the cut and will host a round of 16 game as well as group stage matches. It will have a capacity of 47,000 for European Championship matches. Germany's financial capital on the River Main already attracts more than its fair share of foreign visitors, and is also where Germany's football federation has its headquarters.
Image: dpa
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf was perhaps the biggest loser in 2006 when the World Cup venues were announced. Despite a newly renovated stadium, the city went empty-handed while local rivals Cologne got the nod. The ground is a cauldron inside, although it resembles a giant DIY store from the outside. One of the Euro 2024 quarterfinals is to be played here.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Weihrauch
Stuttgart
There is a lot to be happy about football-wise in Stuttgart right now. VfB Stuttgart's stunning Bundesliga season, when they finished second, is being followed by the city's partly renovated stadium hosting Euro 2024 games. The first quarterfinal takes place here. It boasts a capacity of 51,000 for the tournament.
