National federations from across UEFA’s 54 full-member countries had until Thursday to confirm their individual candidate cities to host matches in Euro 2020. Europe’s governing body will select 13 cities to host the tournament all across the continent in a departure from the traditional single-nation hosting system.
The UEFA Executive Committee is set to announce candidate cities on Sept. 20, and those cities have until April 25, 2014, to submit dossiers on their hosting capabilities. UEFA confirmed the tournament format and requirements for host stadiums in January.
Some highlights: Only one venue per country, each of which will host three group matches as a round of 16 or quarterfinal game; the semifinals and final will be played in the same stadium; none of the host nations will qualify for the tournament automatically; every qualified host is guaranteed two home games in the group phase; and the teams are free to set up base camp anywhere they like, with no obligation to stay in a country in which they play.
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To this point, 33 nations have either confirmed their bids or expressed interests. Such jewels of European soccer as the Allianz Arena in Munich, Amsterdam ArenA in the Netherlands, Old Trafford and Wembley Stadium in England and the San Siro and Stadio Olimpico in Italy have come up in discussions.
2018 FIFA World Cup host Russia has FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s support, and it declared Thursday that it would propose a to-be-constructed 69,000-seat stadium in St. Petersburg, which is set to host a semifinal at the World Cup. Blatter said the country will have all the necessary infrastructure, so hosting the World Cup should only help in its bid.
The semifinal and final venue may already be set, with UEFA president Michel Platini reportedly promising the last three games of the tournament to Turkey. In recent days, Istanbul lost to Tokyo in its bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. The German and English federations seem ready to drop their final bids to allow Platini to keep his word.
