By David Owen
October 28 – UEFA has agreed to chip in an extra €20 million for the 10 Euro 2016 host cities. The financial package will be released in two instalments, the first at once and the second after the competition finishes. The tournament, to be played in France, will be the 15th European Championship and the first to be contested by 24 teams.
The financial agreement was announced after a meeting in Bordeaux of the Euro 2016 steering group. This was attended, among others, by Manuel Valls, the French Prime Minister, Michel Platini, UEFA President, and Alain Juppé, the veteran mayor of Bordeaux, who is also a former French Prime Minister.
Juppé, President of the host cities’ association, said that in addition to the €20 million, UEFA would rent the stadiums throughout the competition and had decided to allocate 20,000 tickets to underprivileged young people. “The help given will probably amount to around €50 million,” he said.
The 10 host-cities are Bordeaux itself, Lens, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris, Saint-Denis (home of the Stade de France), Saint-Etienne and Toulouse.
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