World Cup winner Philipp Lahm will head the Euro 2024 organisation if the German bid wins, the country’s football association (DFB) have said.
Lahm, who captained Germany to success at the 2014 World Cup and has since retired, is currently a bid ambassador, with the German candidacy competing against Turkey for Euro 2024. UEFA are set to pick the winning bid on Sept. 27.
“It was my wish from the start of my activity as ambassador for the Euro 2024 bid to take over long-term responsibility,” the 34-year-old Lahm, who won 113 caps for Germany, said in a DFB statement.
“This new task as tournament chief offers a very interesting possibility for that.”
The DFB said it was important to tie Lahm to the association on a long-term basis and the decision had wide support among its board members.
“Philipp Lahm did an outstanding and engaged job as ambassador and I am convinced that this will also be the case after Sept. 27,” DFB President Reinhard Grindel said.
Germany are considered favourites in the race to host the tournament in six years’ time.
Captain Lahm’s solid defending helped Germany win all ten qualification matches for UEFA Euro 2012, and he also provided one assist each for Mesut Özil and Mario Gómez. He was an ever-present in the German defence that attracted praise from a variety of sources.
Germany won all three group games against Portugal, Netherlands, and Denmark. Lahm scored the opening goal in their 4–2 victory over Greece in the quarter-finals. Germany was eliminated 2–1 by Italy in the semi-finals.
On 6 September 2013, Lahm was awarded his 100th cap for the German national team in a 3–0 win over Austria during qualificationfor the 2014 World Cup.
On 16 June 2014, Lahm started for Germany in central midfield in their first match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, a 4–0 defeat of Portugal in Salvador, and remained in the position for the other two group games and the round of 16 match against Algeria.
Lahm reverted to right back for the quarter-final against France, and remained there in Germany’s 7–1 defeat of Brazil in the semi-final. On 11 July 2014, Lahm was named on the 10-man shortlist for FIFA’s Golden Ball award for the tournament’s best player.
On 13 July 2014, Lahm led Germany to a World Cup victory, a 1–0 win against Argentina in the final, the fourth time Germany have won the competition and the first for a reunified Germany. Fritz Walter, Franz Beckenbauer, and Lothar Matthäus had skippered West Germany to the World Cup title.
On 18 July 2014, Lahm, at the age of 30,announced his retirement from international football. He had scored five goals in 113 appearances.[3][51][65] On 2 September 2014, Bastian Schweinsteiger succeeded Lahm as captain of the German national team.