By Halil Ibrahim Avsar
Türkiye will aim for 3rd consecutive European Amputee Football Championship title in France.
The third European Amputee Football Championship is set to take place in Evian-les-Bains, located in the Haute-Savoie region, between June 1 and 8.
This year, 16 teams will vie for the title in the 2024 championship.
The participating teams include Türkiye, France, Greece, Poland, Scotland, Germany, England, Georgia, Belgium, Spain, Israel, Ireland, Azerbaijan, Italy, the Netherlands, and Ukraine.
The competition structure involves four groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarterfinals.
The championship will begin with an exciting opening match on Saturday, where the host nation France will play against Ukraine.
- Türkiye to face Ireland, Azerbaijan, Israel in Group C
Turkish national team will compete with Ireland, Azerbaijan, and Israel in Group C.
The national team will play their first match against Israel on Sunday, June 2. They will face Azerbaijan on Monday, June 3, and Ireland on Tuesday, June 4.
All of Türkiye's group stage matches will be held at Camille Fournier Stadium.
Türkiye has a remarkable track record in the European Amputee Football Championships, having won a total of 11 matches in the two previous tournaments.
The national team, holding the prestigious title of "undefeated" in Europe, has demonstrated impressive offensive and defensive skills. Over these 11 matches, Türkiye scored 62 goals while conceding only 4 goals.
- Türkiye won 2022 World Cup title
Türkiye, who came in third in the 2007 World Cup held in the Turkish Riviera resort of Antalya, were among the top three teams for the first time in the history of the cup.
Following this initial success, the team consistently performed well in subsequent World Cups, securing third place in 2010, 2012, and 2014.
They played in the championship match for the first time in the history of the organization at the 2018 Amputee Football World Cup held in Mexico.
The national team lost to Angola on penalties in the final and narrowly missed the championship cup, which was very close.
Türkiye faced Angola again in the final of the organization, this time in 2022. Defeating their opponents 4-1 and taking the 2018 rematch from Angola, the national football team won the World Cup for the first time.
The Turkish amputee football team, which has won two European championships, won the 2022 World Cup held in Istanbul.
* Writing by Emre Asikci in Istanbul