By Andrew Warshaw
September 12 – Belgium became one of the last countries to throw their hat into the ring to stage matches at Euro 2020, proposing Brussels as a venue on the eve of today’s deadline day for applications to host the revolutionary pan-European finals.
The Belgian FA said it would put forward Brussels after an agreement over a new 60,000-seater stadium was reached between the various sporting and political authorities.
Matches at the 2020 ‘Euro for Europe’ finals, the brainchild of UEFA president Michel Platini, are to be split into 13 different packages: 12 ordinary packages including three group games and one knockout round match, and one package for the semi-finals and the final.
No country can put forward more than one venue per package, with the semi-finals and the final to be played in the same stadium.
Although today is deadline day, UEFA are refusing to reveal the list of applicants until they have consulted their executive committee at a meeting in Dubrovnik next week. Bid dossiers have to be submitted by April next year, with successful cities to be announced in September, 2014.
A number of countries from across Europe have already publically expressed their interest including Germany (Munich), England (Wembley), Scotland (Glasgow), Turkey (Istanbul), Czech Republic (Prague), Serbia (Belgrade) and Hungary (Budapest). Baku (Azerbaijan) has also put in its bid at the last minute.
The most intriguing part of the process will be the fight to host the latter stages of the competition. The English FA is understood to have gone down the strategic route of initially submitting two bids, one for the group stage plus a knockout round, the other for the semifinals and final, but face fierce opposition from the Germans and, in particular, new favourites Turkey, for the right to stage the climax to the one-off multi-venue tournament.
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