Germany on Thursday won the race to host the 2024 European Championship as UEFA backed a bid seen as safer than a rival proposal from Turkey.
Politics, national unity and respect for human rights in Turkey emerged as key themes in the campaign to host Europe's premier international football event.
In the end the result was not close, with Germany winning the vote among UEFA's executive committee members by a margin of 12-4 with one abstention.
UEFA considered that the German bid already had everything in place to host a successful event -- from stadiums to infrastructure and hotels.
"We will do our utmost to live up to our expectations," German Football Association (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel said after the winner was announced at UEFA's lakeside Swiss headquarters.
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Germany's head coach Joachim Loew called the win "exceptional." "You could feel the tension," he added. "We will do everything now to deliver an awesome European championship." - Erdogan's shadow -
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