German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the Allianz Arena in Munich this Monday at the invitation of the UEFA. In the presence of Euro 2024 tournament director Philipp Lahm, FC Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen, and Jürgen Muth, managing director of Allianz Arena Stadion GmbH, Scholz learned about sustainability issues just 10 days before the start of the European Championship, in particular about FC Bayern's awareness concept for the Allianz Arena, which UEFA will adopt for all stadiums during the tournament in Germany between 14 June and 14 July.
“It is an honour that the opening match of this European Championship will be played at the Allianz Arena, as it was at the 2006 World Cup,” said Dreesen. “Back then, Munich proved to be the perfect starting point for an unforgettable few weeks. Munich is a city of sport, and fans all over the world know that they are always welcome. The Allianz Arena is a flagship for the city and the state of Bavaria. The exchange with Chancellor Scholz on important issues of social and environmental sustainability shows how seriously football fulfils its social responsibility.”
Scholz toured the dressing rooms, exchanged ideas with FC Bayern's groundskeepers and met volunteers who will be on duty at Euro 2024. He then had the awareness concept ‘Obacht. Unsere Haltung – unser Ansatz’ (Careful. Our attitude - our approach) explained, which FC Bayern has developed together with its fans and has been in place at home matches since last season to create a culture of looking out and making stadium visits even safer. In this initiative, the Bavarian term ‘Obacht’ stands for looking out for each other, supporting each other and, above all, providing help should visitors need it. The chancellor also learnt about the Zero Waste waste prevention concept.
The opening match of Euro 2024 will take place at the Allianz Arena on 14 June when Germany face Scotland in Group A. Kick-off is at 9pm CEST. Bayern’s home will also host the group matches between Romania and Ukraine (17 June/3pm), Slovenia and Serbia (20 June/3pm) and Denmark and Serbia (25 June/9pm), as well as the round of 16 tie on 2 July between the winner of Group E and the third-placed team in Group A/B/C/D (6pm), and a semi-final on 9 July (9pm).
Several Bayern players could feature in the opening match of Euro 2024 in Munich on 14 June:
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