UEFA federations clamour for a piece of the Euro 2020 action

By Andrew Warshaw
September 20 – The revolutionary multi-venue European Championship finals in 2020 have attracted no fewer than 32 applicants from across the Continent, well over half of the entire UEFA membership, it was announced today. Thirteen cities will be chosen in September next year to stage the one-off pan-European finals which UEFA President Michel Platini hopes will reduce construction costs and travel.

One city will host the final and both semifinals. Twelve other cities will host three group-stage matches and one knockout match.

The 32 countries who have expressed interest – over half UEFA’s 54 members – have been invited to a workshop next month and will then have until April 25 next year to submit official bid dossiers.

After that, inspection teams will visit the various candidates before UEFA’s executive committee whittles them down and announces the 13 winning cities five months later.

Today’s announcement reflects the huge interest across Europe, in particular from smaller nations, over Platini’s pan-European concept.

“This shows the idea was a good one,” said Platini. “We need to look at the different proposals. Maybe we won’t have 32 options by the time we get to April, and fewer still between then and September. But when a country has the opportunity to participate without having to build eight stadiums, it’s really important.”

Turning to the subject currently being played out across the globe – the Qatar World Cup in 2022 – Platini declined to reveal much more than has already been reported from Dubrovnik, in other words that UEFA’s 54 member nations in principle support FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s preference for moving the tournament to the northern hemisphere winter.

FIFA’s executive committee, which will make the final decisions, convenes on October 3-4 for the all-important ruling and Platini said: “We have stated that in principle we are not against playing in winter but that’s it. The ball is in the court of the president of FIFA.”

Platini has long admitted he voted for Qatar – but only on the basis of the tournament being played in winter. Although Blatter has recently taken much of the brunt of the media furore for seemingly moving the goalposts, it is Platini who has been the most powerful voice over the last three years for playing in winter.

Platini said: “Mr Blatter now thinks it is a good idea, after three years, and we’ll now try to move in that direction. Probably no decision (on dates) will be taken in October. It’s a complicated discussion. Everyone is voicing an opinion.”

Platini, who stated earlier this week that he would not decide whether to run for the FIFA presidency in 2015 until next year’s World Cup at the earliest, declined to elaborate further.

“I know what some of the members and my friends would like to have me do but …it really doesn’t worry me. There’s a lot of time. It doesn’t keep me awake at night.”

Altogether, 39 cities have been put forward by the 32 countries interested in staging games at Euro 2020.