Tom Clark: Superb German hosts and visiting fans a reminder of what was missing at Euro 2020 and Qatar 2022

After a delayed Euro 2020 tournament was sandwiched between controversial World Cup hosts Russia and Qatar we have what feels like a return to a traditional tournament for the first time since 2016.

This is not to say Germany and German football are without issues. Borussia Dortmund’s recent sponsorship deal with a company involved in weapons manufacturing has damaged their reputation as a club of the people. And on a national level, Germany’s support to Israel has caused disquiet.

Since Friday however national attention has moved from politics and wars and been focused on football. This is part of the package for a host, it is one of the reasons millions if not billions are spent on global sports events.

This is now my tenth tournament and it is always the same. Whether it is the UK, South Africa, Qatar, South Korea or Germany, tournaments are effectively used as a distraction.

Plenty see through this and know this extravaganza is potentially not worth the outlay but it is hard not to get caught up in the thrill that only a major tournament can bring. After all, whose Monday afternoon was not made better by the Romania and Slovakia shocks?

Few politicians, let alone citizens, want to be the buzzkill, so for the month all seems well as everyone gets swept along in the party. There have been questions before the tournament and more to follow about the financial sense of hosting and many potential countries are beginning to be put off as a result.

Hosts have to look at the economic costs of bringing major events to town but there are also political ramifications and whether the tourism and infrastructure boost is all it is made out to be.

Being a host is expensive, but done right it can be economically beneficial as well as providing homes, jobs and improvement to transport provisions. The latter, however, seems to be sadly missing in Germany. 

We are not even a week into the competition and the public transport network appears to be at breaking point with Gelsenkirchen getting the brunt of supporters' anger, and rightly so, it was diabolical for England’s opening match and the only major surprise was how patient fans were. 

Transport aside, Germany has got this tournament right, as it was always likely to do.

Tickets are not cheap but demand has vastly outstripped supply, which was far from the case in Qatar. Personal experience in 2022 saw my group get to almost any games we fancied, multiple matches per day and often bought from Fifa on day of the match, but there is no such luck in Germany where tickets are like gold dust.

Qatar catered to a Muslim fanbase exceptionally well and a World Cup should embrace all different continents, religions, and cultures, but in the same vein Germany is almost the perfect Euros venue.

It is the archetypal host and there is a reason Fifa and Uefa go back there time and time again. It is fun, profitable and has the infrastructure needed to host millions of visitors, even if German efficiency is one of the greatest cons ever sold to the world.

British trains are far from ideal but German ones are potentially worse. For a Brit this is hard to believe but is no shock to the locals who are all too familiar with the failing public transport system.

Despite the transport issues, Euro 2024 is an absolute blast in a country full of food, drink, culture and most importantly football fans.

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