2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
The 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship will be the 26th edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by UEFA for the men's under-21 national teams of Europe. The tournament will be hosted by Albania and Serbia. A total of 16 teams will play in the final tournament. Players born on or after 1 January 2004 are eligible to participate.
As with previous Under-21 Championships held one year prior to the Olympic Games, this tournament will serve as European qualifying for the [Football at the Football at the 2028 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|2028 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|2028 Summer Olympics]. Three eligible teams will compete for qualifying for the men's football tournament of the 2028 Summer Olympics, where they will be represented by their under-23 national teams with a maximum of three overage players allowed.
[England national under-21 Association football|football team|England] are the two-time defending champions, having defeated Germany in the 2025 final and Spain in the 2023 final.
Bidding process
- and – On 9 May 2024, Albania and Serbia confirmed their intent to bid together. Albania originally wanted to bid alone, however the stadium requirements for the tournament led the Albanians to find a partner. In an interview, Albanian federation president, Armand Duka said that, prior to choosing Serbia, Albania had first contacted the football federations from Kosovo and North Macedonia for a potential co-host, although this failed to materialise as both nations did not meet the requirements. He followed by saying that of the other bidders at the time, the federation chose Serbia over Belgium and Turkey. The opening match would be in Tirana and the final would held at the National Stadium in Belgrade if built in time.
This bid has generated a considerable amount of controversy in both nations due to both nations' mutual dislike of each other, their relations with Kosovo, as well as other matters. Back in October 2014, both nations played a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier game in Belgrade, which was eventually abandoned after 42 minutes following several incidents and a pitch invasion during the match. Both the Serbian and Albanian football federations have been fined numerous times due to fans displaying politically motivated banners about Kosovo and each other. On 20 May 2024, an Albanian fan group protested by spraying paint and gluing photos in front of the offices of the federation. In response, Kosovo announced a huge revamp of their stadiums after the news of the joint bid. Albania's most capped player, Lorik Cana, has also criticised the bid. However, former politician Milaim Zeka supported the bid. Fan groups in Albania and Kosovo have both said they are strongly against the bid.
;Withdrew
On 26 September 2024, UEFA announced that Albania and Serbia were the sole bidders. The host was set to be decided by the UEFA Executive Committee on 16 December 2024, however the selection delayed to February 2025 whilst awaiting security guarantees. On 4 February 2025, Albania and Serbia were given the hosting rights.
Preparations
- Shortly after being awarded the hosting rights, Serbia announced that captain of the 2004 squad who finished as runners-up, Danko Lazović, will be an ambassador for the tournament.
Venues
Contrary to original reports saying that Belgrade will host the final, UEFA announced on 4 February 2025 that the National stadium in Tirana will host the final, with Serbia hosting the opening match in Belgrade.Host cities in Albania are Tirana, Shkodër, Elbasan and Rrogozhinë, while Serbia's host cities are Belgrade, Loznica, Leskovac and Zaječar.
| Tirana | Elbasan | Venues in Albania |
| Arena Kombëtare | Elbasan Arena | |
| Capacity: 22,500 | Capacity: 12,800 | |
| Shkodër | Rrogozhinë | |
| Stadiumi Loro Boriçi | Egnatia Arena | |
| Capacity: 16,000 | Capacity: 4,267 | |
| Belgrade | Leskovac | Venues in Serbia |
| Stadion Partizana | Stadion Dubočica | |
| Capacity: 29,775 | Capacity: 8,136 | |
| Zaječar | Loznica | |
| Stadion Kraljevica | Stadion Lagator | |
| Capacity: 8,168 | Capacity: 8,030 | |
Qualification
Qualified teams
The following teams qualified for the final tournament.''Note: All appearance statistics include only U-21 era.''