Euro 2020 Set For Cross-continent Tournament
UEFA has announced that the European Championships in 2020 will be staged in a number of cities across the continent, following a decision at UEFA’s executive committee in Lausanne on Thursday, with the Football Association already putting Wembley forward as a potential venue for the final.
The announcement will also give hope to Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland hosting some Euro 2020 matches, having previously expressed interest to UEFA.
Platini first discussed the possibility of hosting the city across Europe back in July.
UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino said at a press conference: ‘Some important decisions have been taken. UEFA Euro 2020 will be staged across the continent, in various major cities, following a decision taken today. A Euro for Europe follows an initial idea by UEFA president Michel Platini.’
‘The response has been extremely positive from all the national associations.’
The format and number of cities that will be involved in the tournament will be decided by UEFA’s national teams committee, and the format will only be in place for the 2020 edition of the competition, reverting back to the current format for 2024.
The decision has been met with mixed views from football fans, but it is reported that the decision has been taken to avoid smaller countries building large and expensive new infrastructure during tough economic times.
Meanwhile, UEFA also decided that the 2013/14 European women’s under-17 tournament will be hosted in England.
