UEFA has officially announced that the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship will, for the first time in history, be jointly hosted by the football federations of Albania and Serbia. This decision came as a surprise, given the tense relations between the two countries and the frequent incidents during their direct encounters.
The UEFA Executive Committee held a meeting where the decision on the tournament's hosts was made. Since the only joint bid came from the football associations of Serbia and Albania, they were appointed as the organizers of the upcoming championship.
The tournament will take place in eight stadiums—four in each country. In Albania, matches will be held in Tirana, Shkodër, Elbasan, and Rrogozhinë, while in Serbia, the host cities will be Novi Sad, Loznica, Leskovac, and Zaječar. The tournament's opening match will be in Serbia, while the final will be played in Albania.
As host nations, Serbia and Albania will automatically qualify for the final tournament. The remaining 14 participants will be determined through the qualification matches held in 2026–2027.
This will be the first time the U21 European Championship is held in either Albania or Serbia. For Albania, it continues a growing experience in hosting major football events—Tirana hosted the first-ever UEFA Europa Conference League final in 2022, and the country will also organize the UEFA U17 European Championship in 2025. Serbia previously hosted the U17 European Championship in 2011 and the UEFA Futsal Euro finals in 2016.
The selection of both countries as hosts is particularly unexpected given their complicated history. Matches between the national teams of Serbia and Albania have often been accompanied by conflicts both on and off the field. One of the most notorious incidents occurred in 2014, when a drone carrying a "Greater Albania" flag flew over the stadium in Belgrade during a Euro 2016 qualifier, sparking massive unrest. In this context, the joint hosting of a major youth tournament can be seen as an important step toward fostering dialogue and improving relations between the two nations.
It remains to be hoped that the U21 Euro 2027 will proceed without incidents and serve as an opportunity for Serbia and Albania to demonstrate their readiness for high-level sports cooperation.