The Euro football tournament, originally scheduled for 12 June to 12 July 2020, had to be postponed because of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. But this time, it's the right time. The European Football Championship will be held from 11 June to 11 July.
And, for the first time in its history, the Euro will be held in eleven cities in eleven different countries. London (England); St Petersburg (Russia); Baku (Azerbaijan); Munich (Germany); Rome (Italy); Amsterdam (Netherlands); Bucharest (Romania); Budapest (Hungary); Copenhagen (Denmark); Glasgow (Scotland) and Seville (Spain) have been chosen by UEFA to host matches.
Before the pandemic, Dublin (Republic of Ireland) and Bilbao (Spain) were due to host matches. They were finally replaced last April by Seville and St Petersburg, due to a lack of capacity in their stadiums.
In all other editions of the Euros, only one country was chosen to host the tournament, and the matches were then held in different cities in the host country. In 2016, France was chosen as the host country, with matches taking place in 10 stadiums: Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, Stade Bollaert in Lens, Stade de Bordeaux, Stade de Lyon, Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, Stade de Nice, Parc des Princes in Paris, Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne and Stade Municipal in Toulouse.
It is also because it was the organiser of the 2016 edition that France did not apply, and therefore will not be the host city, for this new edition of the European competition.
An exceptional edition
But this year, the organisation is spread over eleven cities. This choice is not new: the decision was in fact taken by UEFA in 2012. It was Michel Platini, UEFA President at the time, who proposed the 2020 European Championship, to be spread over several "tournaments". 12 or 13 towns "In 2012, an article in L'Express recalled the 60th anniversary of the competition. And that's exactly what has happened.
The official competition website states: ". UEFA EURO 2020 will be staged across Europe for the first time to mark the 60th anniversary of the competition, in eleven different cities. ".
And special arrangements mean special rules. With the classic organisation, the host country automatically qualifies for the European Championship. Not this time: " There will be no direct qualifiers, as all the nations with host cities have tried to earn their place in the finals. "says UEFA.
Be that as it may, this is an exceptional organisation: Euro 2024 has been entrusted to Germany.
Text by C. Br. |
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