Much of the football world's focus will be on Germany during the 2024 European summer, as Euro 2024 takes place in the country.
The host nation, holders Italy, and 22 other teams will compete for the right to become champions of Europe, with the tournament getting underway on June 14 — just two weeks after the 2023/24 club season concludes with the UEFA Champions League final.
That means a number of the world's best footballers will have little time to rest and recover from a grueling campaign at club level, before taking on the continent's elite in the European Championship. Should they progress all the way to the final, they will have another relatively quick turnaround before the start of the next European club season and the return of both domestic matches and UEFA's revamped Champions League.
The Sporting News looks at when Euro 2024 will finish and the start dates of the major European leagues in 2024/25.
MORE: The full schedule for Euro 2024
When does Euro 2024 finish? End date, final of UEFA tournament
Euro 2024 starts on June 14, 2024, and runs through to the final on July 14, 2024. The title match takes place at Berlin's Olympiastadion at 9 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET).
The final of the European Championship takes place on the same day as the final of the Copa America in the United States. That game is at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
When does the 2024/25 club season start?
The major European leagues begin their 2024/25 seasons less than a month after the Euros finishes. The start dates for those competitions are listed in the table below.
The first round of UEFA Champions League qualifying actually begins before the Euros ends, over July 9-10, although it is highly unlikely that any players involved in the latter stages of the European Championship would also be needed for those qualifying matches.
The Champions League, Europa League and Conference League proper do not start until September 2024. The UEFA Super Cup, the match between the winners of the 2023/24 Champions League and Europa League, will be held on August 14, exactly a month after the Euros final.
Major European league season starts 2024/25*
| Country | League | Start date |
| England | Premier League | August 17, 2024 |
| France | Ligue 1 | August 16, 2024 |
| Germany | Bundesliga | August 23, 2024 |
| Italy | Serie A | August 17, 2024 |
| Spain | LaLiga | August 16, 2024 |
*Dates are provisional until fixtures are released
