Austria bids to host 2029 Under-21 European Championship

Austria has submitted its bid to host the 2029 UEFA Under-21 European Championship, with the Schnabelholz stadium in Altach among eight proposed venues, ORF reported on Monday. UEFA will announce its decision on December 7.

The stadium, home of Bundesliga club SCR Altach, has around 8,500 seats. Its capacity is considered suitable for the tournament, with matches at the 2025 Under-21 European Championship in Slovakia attracting an average of just over 8,000 spectators.

Eight venues from Altach to Vienna

The Austrian Football Association said it had deliberately chosen smaller stadiums with strong regional ties. The other proposed venues are the Franz Horr Stadium and Weststadion in Vienna, the stadiums in St. Pölten and Linz, the Oberösterreich Arena, the Innviertel Arena and Tivoli Stadium Tirol.

Altach would be the tournament’s westernmost venue. The competition would feature 16 teams.

The UEFA executive committee will decide on December 7 whether Austria will host the tournament. Spain has also expressed interest in staging the event.

ÖFB supervisory board chairman Josef Pröll said hosting the tournament would bring international football to Austria, highlight the next generation of players and create lasting benefits for the sport. He also thanked the bid team, led externally by Wolfgang Gramann.

Austria’s Under-21 team would qualify automatically as the host nation. The country has previously appeared at the tournament only once, in Italy in 2019. Players born in 2006 or later will be eligible for the 2029 competition.

The last youth European Championship held in Austria was the 2007 Under-19 tournament in Upper Austria, which included Marko Arnautovic among its players.