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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Daniella Matar

Political leaders and soccer greats to attend Euro 2024 curtainraiser between Germany and Scotland

Soccer Germany Scotland Franz Beckenbauer Munich European Championship the European Championship UEFA Champions League
2008 AP

Notable figures from the worlds of politics and soccer were set to attend the opening match of the European Championship on Friday.

Host nation Germany plays Scotland in the tournament curtainraiser at Allianz Arena in Munich.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Scotland First Minister John Swinney, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was due to attend.

UEFA will honor late German soccer great Franz Beckenbauer at the opening ceremony before the match, and Germany’s two living European Championship-winning captains, Bernard Dietz (1980) and Jürgen Klinsmann (1996), will bring on the trophy.

They will be joined by Beckenbauer’s wife Heidi.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino also was at the game — with his former colleagues from UEFA — having flown to Munich overnight from Zambia, where he completed a tour of African nations.

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