UEFA Confident Wembley Will Hold Euro 2020 Final Matches
UEFA says it is ‘confident’ the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020 will be held at Wembley but has a contingency plan amid concerns around England's now extended coronavirus restrictions to 19th July.
With most of the countries remaining in the Euro 2020 competition being on the government’s ‘amber’ or ‘red’ lists it has posed a dilemma for the UK government.
In May UEFA met with UK government officials and the Football Association to discuss the possibility of Wembley hosting the Champions League final match between Chelsea and Manchester City which had been scheduled to be held in Istanbul but, as no agreement could be reached on quarantine exemptions for sponsors, VIPs and broadcasters, the match was ultimately moved to Portugal.
With the UK coronavirus restrictions now being extended until 19th July, the government is again in discussions with UEFA over plans around the safe and secure delivery of the Euro 2020 semi-finals and final but it is understood there have been no decisions made regarding exemptions for the 2,500+ designated VIP’s who had not only hoped to attend the final at Wembley Stadium but also the knockout phase of the tournament as well as training sessions etc.
When asked about allowing fans into the country for the final week of the tournament, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday: “We'll do what we have to do to keep the country safe from Covid, that's obviously going to be our priority, and we'll be talking to UEFA about what they want and see if we can make some sensible accommodations.
“But the priority obviously has to be public health.”
UEFA has said it is in discussions with the local authorities designed to allow visiting fans to utilise a ‘travel bubble’ that would see their time spent in the UK reduced to fewer than 24 hours, with movement restricted to approved transport and venues.
European football's governing body has requested that a number of broadcasters and commercial partners be allowed to attend the games, subject to the same restrictions as staff, adding in a statement:
“We understand the pressures that the government faces and hope to be able to reach a satisfactory conclusion of our discussions on the matter.
“There is always a contingency plan but we are confident that the final week will be held in London.”
Dublin and Bilbao were originally host cities but missed out on staging games after being unable to guarantee spectator attendance and a reported compensation settlement was given to Bilbao for losing their matches.
