June 27 – UEFA is convinced France will be ready to stage Euro 2016 even though a good deal of the necessary stadium construction has yet to get under way. At a news conference to unveil the 2016 tournament logo, both UEFA president Michel Platini and his number two Gianni Infantino shrugged off any doubts about the tournament stadia, the first tournament to comprise 24 teams, not being ready on time.
France is hosting the event for the first time since 1984 with the qualification draw taking place on February 23 next year.
While the St Etienne, Marseille and Bordeaux venues, all used for the 1998 World Cup, are being refurbished, work has barely begun on Lyon’s new stadium but that was not an issue for Platini who told reporters: “I think that all the stadiums will be ready. Lyon is going to be built, Lens looks like it will be done, I don’t think there will be a problem.”
Lyon’s Stadium of Lights will have a capacity of 60,000 and is the first venue to be 100% funded by private investment. Work has not yet started because of a string of legal actions from protestors against the build.
“We can’t imagine having the Euro in France without Lyon but when France need to do something, they do it,” said UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino. “We really trust France. We staged the last Euro in Poland and Ukraine and it had not been easy. It’s a completely different situation here because France already have all the infrastructure. Apart from stadiums, there’s nothing to build.”
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