Poland, which co-hosted Euro 2012 with neighbours Ukraine and organised the 2006 European Under-19 Championship, will take over the mantle from the Czech Republic, who are scheduled to stage this year's tournament from June 17 to 30.

The number of teams competing at the 2017 finals is set to increase to 12, up from the eight that have competed at each edition since 2000.

The cities of Gdansk, Poznań, Warsaw and Wrocław hosted matches during Euro 2012, however, it is not yet clear which will do so in two years time.  

The Executive Committee, chaired by UEFA President Michel Platini, has also announced the hosts for a further 10 tournaments, including the 2017 and 2018 European Under-19 Championships, awarded to Georgia and Finland respectively, and the 2017 and 2018 European Under-17 Championships, given to Croatia and England respectively.

Georgia will be organising a UEFA youth final tournament for the first time, while Finland have previous experience having staged the European Under-18 Championship in 1982 and 2001.

Croatia will also be organising their first UEFA youth final tournament, while England hosted the equivalent women's event last year.

Poland's National Stadium in Warsaw is likely to be one of the venues for the 2017 European Under 21 Championship ©Getty Images



England captain Wayne Rooney has described playing in the 2002 European Under-17 Championship as the proudest moment of his life at the time, and he is delighted to see the 2018 edition heading to the English Football Association's (FA) St George's Park in Burton upon Trent, where the 16 competing teams will be based. 

"I have never had the opportunity to play in a home-based tournament so the experience for our Under-17 squad should be extra special and I hope that the lads seize the opportunity," the Manchester United forward told the FA.

The 2017 and 2018 women's events at Under-19 level have been awarded to Northern Ireland and Switzerland respectively, while the Czech Republic and Lithuania have been given the 2017 and 2018 Under-17 tournaments. 

Northern Ireland has never hosted a women's final tournament, whereas Switzerland staged the Under-19 competition in 2006. 

Both the Czech Republic and Lithuania will be hosting European women's final tournaments for the first time.

Meanwhile, Slovenia has been named Futsal Euro 2018 hosts, with Sporting Clube de Portugal (Sporting Lisbon) being awarded the 2015 Futsal Cup finals.

Futsal is a five-a-side version of football, which is generally played indoors on a smaller pitch.

Slovenia saw off competition from FYR Macedonia and Romania to win the Futsal Euro 2018 hosting rights, and propose to stage the tournament at the 12,500-capacity Stožice Arena in the capital, Ljubljana.

Sporting Clube de Portugal will host the four-team 2015 Futsal Cup finals at the MEO Arena in April, having previously held the event in 2002 and 2010.

England captain and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney is delighted to see his country awarded the European Under-17 Championship ©Getty Images




Preparations for Euro 2016 in France are said to be going well with the Executive Committee receiving a positive update at the meeting. 

Today marks the beginning of the 500-day countdown to the tournament, which is scheduled to take place between June 10 and July 10.

The Executive Committee also received a report on the "Breaking the Glass Ceiling" seminar, aimed at tackling institutional discrimination in football, which was held last month in Amsterdam.

The resolution presented at the seminar can be found by clicking here.

The next Executive Committee meeting is due to take place in Vienna, Austria on March 22 and 23.

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January 2015: England bidding to host 2018 European Under-17 Football Championships