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

Euro 2024
Dancers perform during the opening ceremony ahead of the Group A match between Germany and Scotland at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

By DANIELLA MATAR AP Sports Writer

MUNICH (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.

Euro 2024
Dancers perform during the opening ceremony ahead of the Group A match between Germany and Scotland at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

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.

Euro 2024
Dancers perform during the opening ceremony ahead of the Group A match between Germany and Scotland at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Friday, June 14, 2024. (Peter Kneffel/dpa via AP)

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.

Former German soccer legend Juergen Klinsmann holds the trophy prior a Group A match between Germany and Scotland at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Munich, Germany, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)