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BERLIN: More than one in four Germans have no interest in the upcoming Euro 2024 hosted by their country, the biggest sports event in Germany in almost two decades, a poll conducted for public broadcaster ARD showed on Wednesday (Jun 5).
Organisers and the German national team are hoping to unleash a wave of enthusiasm among the population, similar to the one at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, dubbed ‘the summer fairy tale’.
But so far some Germans seem unconvinced, with 27 per cent having no interest in the tournament, starting on Jun 14 across 10 cities in Germany and ending with the Jul 14 final in Berlin.
Less than half of those questioned (43 per cent) said they are very interested in the event while 28 per cent are less interested, ARD said.
Germany, three-time European champions and winners of four World Cup trophies, have failed to make any international impact in the past 10 years, having also crashed out in the group stage in consecutive World Cups in 2018 and 2022.
There have been signs of improvement, however, under new coach Julian Nagelsmann who took over in October, with the team scoring two wins and a draw in their last three friendly internationals this year.
They play Greece on Friday in their final warmup game before the tournament starts next week.
Germans also expressed worries over security during the tournament, with 42 per cent being concerned or very concerned over security and only 14 per cent having few concerns.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Tuesday Germany was ramping up security before the start of the event to head off potential threats from Islamists, hooligans, violent individuals and cyberattacks.
Germany expects 2.7 million people to attend matches in stadiums across the country and some 12 million in fan zones for outdoor viewing, she said. But security fears have mounted after a spate of attacks in recent months.
Faeser said there were no concrete indications of a threat but Germany was doing everything possible to make the event safe.
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