ENGLAND has declared interest in hosting the Euro 2020 final and semi-finals in London, while Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland have also told UEFA they are keen to stage games during the tournament.
UEFA decided the 2020 finals, which will mark the 60th anniversary since Europe’s governing body was formed, would be shared between 13 cities across Europe and have now confirmed that 32 of its members have expressed a desire to host matches during the tournament.
England has chosen London as its host city, while Scotland wants to bring Euro 2020 games to Glasgow. The city of Cardiff has been put forward by Wales and Dublin is Ireland’s choice.
Each candidate can choose from 13 different Euro 2020 ‘packages’ – 12 of which include hosting three group games plus one match from either the last 16 or quarter-final knockout stage.
The final package is to stage the semi-finals and final, which the English FA wishes to contest for. However, FA general secretary Alex Horne believes it will be a tough decision for UEFA to consider.
“We would be delighted for London and Wembley Stadium to be chosen to host either of the two packages available and we look forward to working with Uefa on the forthcoming selection process,” Horne said.
“It would be great to see England playing in front of their home fans here in London as part of a Euro finals tournament, but many countries have also put themselves forward as hosts and we expect this to be a very competitive bidding process.”
The English FA have chosen London as its desired host city
Each candidate is able to change its host city, but a final choice must be declared by April 25. UEFA will then announce the 13 host cities on September 25 2014.
The Scottish FA hopes Hampden Park will be chosen to stage group games, although there could be a potential stumbling block with their bid.
“We fit the criteria in terms of capacity and footprint around the stadium,” an SFA spokesperson said. “The one red flag is the number of hospitality boxes, but the feeling from UEFA is that that might not inhibit our chances of hosting games.”
The Football Association of Wales also stated: “Showcasing the best international football through the hosting of major events and finals tournaments remains a strategy of the FAW.”
UEFA president Michel Platini expressed his delight at how well the bidding process had been received and declared the body was “extremely proud” of the interest mounted from its members.
The 32 countries (with cities) interested in hosting Euro 2020 games are:
Armenia (Yerevan), Azerbaijan (Baku), Belarus (Minsk), Belgium (Brussels), Bulgaria (Sofia), Croatia (Zagreb), Czech Republic (Prague), Denmark (Copenhagen), England (London), Finland (Helsinki), France (Lyon), Macedonia (Skopje), Germany (Munich), Greece (Athens), Hungary (Budapest), Israel (Jerusalem), Italy (Rome and Milan), Kazakhstan (Astana), Netherlands (Amsterdam), Poland (Warsaw and Chorzow), Portugal (Lisbon and Porto), Republic of Ireland (Dublin), Romania (Bucharest), Russia (St Petersburg), Scotland (Glasgow), Serbia (Belgrade), Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia), Sweden (Solna), Switzerland (Basel), Turkey (Istanbul), Ukraine (Kyiv and Donetsk) and Wales (Cardiff).