By Andrew Warshaw
January 28 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says he remains committed to staging next summer’s delayed Euros in the current format of 12 cities despite recent surges of the coronavirus pandemic across the continent.
But in another sign of increasing concern about whether the concept is feasible, UEFA have given host venues more time to submit plans on how they might admit fans.
Following a meeting of host associations on Wednesday, a deadline of March 5 has now been extended until early April, just two months away from the proposed start of the 24-nation tournament on June 11.
“I’m optimistic that things are highly likely to be very different with regard to the virus as we move closer to the tournament,” Ceferin said in a statement.
“It’s important that we give the host cities and governments as much time as we can to formulate an accurate picture of what will be possible come June and July.
“Fans are such a big part of what makes football special… We must allow ourselves the maximum space to allow their return to the stadiums.”
A UEFA statement added: “All parties recognise the need for flexibility around decisions to be made on the arrangements for the tournament, in order to reflect the different challenges and circumstances that cities find themselves in.
“As a result of that and the fast-changing nature of the situation around the pandemic, the deadline for the submission of plans to accommodate fans inside the stadiums has been moved to early April.”
Ceferin may say he is optimistic but the logistical planning that would have to go into admitting fans in 12 cities from Dublin to Baku, with just two months’ notice, is complex to say the least.
Even before the pandemic upset UEFA’s plans last year, Ceferin made it clear that staging the one-off pan-European event would pose considerable cross-border challenges.
In recent weeks, speculation has grown that UEFA may end up being forced to play the tournament in one country in order to cut down travel and reduce the potential spread of Covid-19.
But Ceferin says the current format must be allowed to be given every chance.
“UEFA is committed to holding Euro 2020 in the 12 cities originally planned. The Euro is the flagship competition for national team football in Europe and is a vital source of funding for grassroots and wider football development,” he said.
Four options are on the table: full stadiums (highly unlikely); 50-100% capacity, 20-30% capacity and behind closed doors though Uefa will be desperate not to have to go ahead with the last of these.
The semi-finals and final are due to be played in London but the UK is one of many European countries in lockdown and the first to have passed the terrible milestone of 100,000 Covid-related deaths.
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