Germany – Good to know – The European Football Championship 2024

Football, or "soccer" as the Americans say, is undoubtedly by far the most popular sport in Germany and is considered by many Germans to be nothing less than the world's greatest pastime. Therefore, the upcoming European Football Championship which will take place in Germany from June 14 until July 14, 2024, is more than just a sports event for passionate football fans but rather a sports festival for everyone.

Most of us will remember the last time Germany hosted an international football tournament, the 2006 World Cup. The event was later labeled the German “summer fairytale” (Sommermärchen) due to the perfect sunny weather, the great atmosphere and of course the achieved success of the German national team in this Championship. So naturally, expectations and hopes are high that this event will once again be a fairytale come true, for Germany in general and the German national football team in particular.

Reason enough, to take a look at some fun and interesting facts about German football and the upcoming European Championship.

Just a few months before the tournament, the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußballbund, DFB) caused an uproar and heated discussions, when it announced that from the 2027 season, the German national team will no longer wear jerseys by the German sports equipment manufacturer Adidas, its partner of more than 70 years, but will in future be fitted by the American rival Nike. According to the DFB, Nike made the by far best economic offer.

Unfortunately, the DFB’s announcement came at the same time as the new kits for the European Championship were unveiled. The home jersey is classic and mostly white. So far so good. However, the official away jersey in pink-purple shades and a diamond-shaped pattern reminiscent of an eagle's wing triggered heated discussions among football fans and other groups who are usually not so involved in football matters. According to Adidas, the kit was meant to represent “the new generation of German football fans and the diversity of the country”.

But despite these controversial issues, let’s focus on the event itself. The European Championship matches will be played in Germany’s nine largest cities (plus Gelsenkirchen) and their football stadiums.

The final on July 14 will be played at the Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion) in Berlin. Built under Nazi rule for the 1936 Olympic Games, it is now Germany’s "final stadium" par excellence. It has been the permanent venue for the DFB Cup final since 1985, and Italy won the 2006 World Cup at the Olympic Stadium. And who knows, maybe this year, the younger generation of German football fans, who had to go through less encouraging achievements by the German team lately, will witness their own summer fairytale on July 14, when its team is crowned European champions :).

In the event of German victories, it might be of interest to mention that the German traffic regulations (“StVO”, Straßenverkehrsordnung) still apply after a match has been won, and red traffic lights or stop signs must not be ignored. Don’t forget: Drinking and driving can result in fines and/or accidents and injuries. Also please note, that if you have huge banners on long poles sticking out of the window, vehicles and banners may not exceed a total width of 2.55 metres, according to Section 22 of the StVO. Finally, honking for no reason is an offence, but the police have discretion here and will hopefully turn a blind eye if the German team wins.

Besides all these facts, hopes and predictions, first and foremost let’s hope for a peaceful, fun, memorable and fair event. As four of the venues are near our office locations (Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Cologne), football fever will probably be felt all the way to our desks on some days, and no doubt there will be some public viewing and exceptions to the usual dress code in our offices during these weeks…

May the best team win!