"There will be 5 or 6 stadiums: Turin, Rome and Milan are inevitable venues, then there will be a wonderful competition that will include Verona, Genoa, Bologna, Florence, Naples, Bari and Palermo. The dossier for the 2032 European Championships included 10 stadiums, Palermo is actually added because there is a prospect there too". This was stated by the Minister for Sport, Andrea Abodi, in a speech today in the Senate: statements that have led to the idea of a possible exclusion of Cagliari from the cities competing to host the event, which Italy will organize together with Turkey, given that the Sardinian capital was no longer mentioned. But, in reality, it was just an oversight: Cagliari is and remains in the running to return to be part of a major international event, after Italia '90 .
In April 2023, the project for the facility that will be named after Gigi Riva and will have to be built on the site of the Sant'Elia – abandoned for six and a half years – was included among those indicated by the FIGC in Italy's candidacy for the European Championships, which was awarded the event in October last year. Cagliari had "beaten" Palermo, which remained as a reserve option ready to step in if there were to be problems with some other venue . And the words of Minister Abodi, on the occasion of the presentation of the Forza Italia bill for the construction and renovation of sports facilities, made people think that the Sicilian capital had "replaced" the Sardinian one given the length of the bureaucratic process to build the new stadium. None of this: the Sardinian candidacy continues, with the final decision on the facilities that will have to be communicated to UEFA in October 2026 .
"I am explaining," Abodi said, "to all the mayors, the sports and urban planning councilors, the presidents and CEOs of the clubs that the 2032 appointment is certainly important, but we need stadiums first." A speech that also touches Cagliari, where the hope is that at least the demolition work of the Sant'Elia will begin by 2025. And which has recently seen several contacts between the municipal administration and Cagliari Calcio to try to define the last issues.
