UEFA To Increase Squad Size From 23 to 26 Players for Euro 2024

April 23, 2024 UEFA Euro 2024 306 Views

The Union of European Football Association (UEFA) is set to increase the squad size of national teams from 23 players to 26 players for the upcoming Euro 2024 Championship in Germany. All 24 qualified teams of the competition will now be able to pick 26 players for the finals in Germany.

During a meeting of all the national coaches in Dusseldorf, it was suggested that the team squad limit should be increased to 26 players. Most of the members voted in favor of increasing the squad limit during that meeting.

Team squads are currently limited to 23 players, a return to the regulations used prior to Euro 2020. For that tournament, 3 more players were allowed to mitigate against the impact of potential COVID outbreaks in the squad.

However, this decision has not been officially announced yet because the executive committee of the UEFA needs to sanction the new rule which could be done in the upcoming days. About the change in squad size, UEFA said

The positive discussions highlighted different points of view among coaches, with some expressing a desire to increase the squad size.

Others stated their preference to cap the squad size at 23, pointing out the difficulty in training with additional players, group management and the increased financial burdens placed upon national associations.

This decision will benefit the coaches of the national teams who are having injury issues with their squad. Take the example of England where the team has some injury crisis. So Gareth Southgate will now have a wide range of players selection.

We’ve seen an increase in the limit of team squads from 23 to 26 players in the FIFA World Cup 2022 and Euro 2021. That benefited most coaches in picking up a fit squad for the mega football event. An increase in squad size means coaches can now pick more defenders midfielders or forwards for the tournament.