Euro 2016 candidates prepare to hand over bids to UEFA

France, Italy and Turkey will hand over their bids to host Euro 2016 at an official ceremony at UEFA headquarters in Nyon on Monday February 15, European football's ruling body confirmed Monday.

Sweden and Norway withdrew their joint bid at the end of last year. UEFA's Executive Committee is due to take a final decision on the host association in Geneva on May 28.

UEFA said they require a minimum of nine stadiums each holding at least 30,000 spectators. At least a 50,000-capacity stadium is needed for the final.

Bidding process for UEFA Euro 2016:
> Any of UEFA's 53 member associations interested in bidding had to signal their intention to UEFA by Monday 9 March.
> UEFA will review the eligibility of each of the candidates before confirming the list of official bidders next month. The bids still in the running will then receive the tournament requirement documents.
> Each of the candidates must complete a bid dossier and present it to UEFA by Monday 15 February, 2010.
> Official site visits to the various bidders will be made during March 2010. The UEFA administration and experts will then examine the official bid dossiers and prepare a written report on each bid.
> The reports will be passed to UEFA's National Team Competitions Committee, with a final decision expected by the UEFA Executive Committee.

Euro 2016 will be the first European championship where 24 teams qualify for the finals.