Zidane hails a 'beautiful victory' as France win right to stage Euro 2016

Uefa's executive committee, being chaired by Geoff Thompson of the Football Association, voted seven votes to six in favour of France. Italy limped home a distant third after being eliminated in the first round of voting.

The outcome left Turkey distraught and suspicious of the influence of Uefa's French president Michel Platini, but for the winners there was jubilation.

Jean-Pierre Escalettes, president of the French Football Federation, said: "This is a beautiful day for us. It is a moment of intense emotion to know that in 2016 France will welcome European football and will fulfil its promises."

Thompson was chairing the committee as Uefa's second vice-president since both Platini and the first vice-president, Senes Erzik, of Turkey, were compromised by their countries' involvement. Had the secret ballot ended all square then Thompson would have had to use a casting vote to decide. That would effectively have publicly declared his allegiance and could have been problematic for England's 2018 World Cup bid, of which Thompson was last week appointed chairman.

Spain/Portugal are a big rival for England 2018, and it is thought their representatives on Uefa backed both horses – Spain's Angel Villar Llona going for Turkey and Portugal's Gilberto Madail for France.

Euro 2016 will be the first time that 24 countries will contest the event, up from 16 in 2012, and will see a major tournament return to France after the World Cup in 1998. France last hosted the European Championships in 1984 when they won the tournament with a side captained by Platini. The Uefa president admitted the contest had put him in a difficult situation – he is French, but of Italian descent and enjoyed his best playing years at Juventus. Platini told a news conference in Geneva: "The position of the president of Uefa being French is complex, and let me say we have had three exceptional bids. It was a very narrow decision – the work done by all three federations was outstanding, and I would like to congratulate the French.

"It has been a complicated situation from the outset and I believe there is a sigh of relief from French football, and they can now upgrade all their stadia to make them up to the same standard as other countries in Europe.

"It was not an easy situation for me – I am French, my name is Italian and I have friends in Turkey. It was the same for Senes Erzik, the (Turkish] first vice-president of Uefa. But Uefa has proved once again that we have democracy."

Zinedine Zidane was France's chief ambassador for the bid, four years after the ignominious headbutt that ended his career. He was sent off for a vicious attack on Italy's Marco Materazzi in the dying minutes of the World Cup final. France then lost on penalties.

For arguably the greatest player of his generation, yesterday was sweet redemption. "It's a beautiful victory," beamed Zidane. "I am happy for France, for the organisation and for all those people who didn't experience 1998 and who will have the chance to experience with this Euro something magnificent," he said, referring to the World Cup 12 years ago that France won on home soil.

Zidane played a key part in convincing European football's governing body to support France, joining the stage with President Nicolas Sarkozy. President Abdullah Gul did his part for Turkey, while Italy's only star personality was legendary defender Paolo Maldini. For Maldini, the result was a repeat of the Euro 2000 final. He captained Italy in defeat, while Zidane won. Zidane reminisced about other matches, recalling the joy he had as a child watching France beat Portugal 3-2 in the Euro 1984 semi-final. The winning goal scorer that night in Marseille was Platini.

"I was lucky enough to be in the stadium near the pitch and lived the emotion," Zidane told a ten-year-old boy on the stage at a Geneva conference centre. "That is the type of experience I want to live again. Winning is beautiful, but it's great to see all the people in the streets partying. There was no difference between people in terms of race."

Euro 2016 means France hosts a third major football championship in 32 years. Zidane, of Algerian descent, said the next tournament would be special for him now that he has four sons.

"This is what I would like to give my children, and to all those who want to see the Euro in France," he said.

Uefa's ruling executive yesterday voted 7-6 for the French bid over Turkey after Italy was eliminated in a first-round points ballot.

&149 France will choose nine stadiums from a pool of 12, including new venues in Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon and Nice; renovations in Marseille and Strasbourg; as well as upgrades to arenas in Lens, Nancy, St Etienne, Toulouse and Parc Des Princes. The final will be at Stade de France.

The project calls for 565 million in public funding. The government has said it will help guarantee the projected 1.5 billion cost of building and renovating stadiums.