Coronavirus outbreak: Euro 2020 postponed by a year
The coronavirus outburst has deferred the high-profile Euro 2020 by one year. European football's governing body took the decision on Tuesday, during an emergency video conference involving major stakeholders. The European Championship, which was scheduled to take place from June 12 to July 12 this year, will now be held from June 11 to July 11 in 2021. Here is more.
UEFA will have to manage three events for 2021
Having postponed the European Championship, UEFA now will also have to manage the Women's European Championship, which is set to begin on July 7, 2021. The European Under-21 Championships and the Nations League are also scheduled for next summer. According to UEFA, all three events will be rescheduled accordingly. However, the scale of postponement is still unclear.
The football community needs to show responsibility: UEFA President
"We are at the helm of a sport that vast numbers of people live and breathe that has been laid low by this invisible and fast-moving opponent. In times like these, the football community needs to show responsibility," said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
Euro play-offs postponed to June
The European Championship qualifying play-offs, which were slated for March, have provisionally been moved to June. As many as 16 matches were due to be held between March 26 and 31. UEFA stated that the calendar solutions will be examined by a working group which will discuss the consequences of Tuesday's decision. Around €2 billion is generated by the the European Championship for UEFA.
The contracts will be on risk with postponement
While the marquee domestic leagues face contractual problems if the games get abandoned, most countries are dependent on the payments from UEFA. These payments are fetched from international tournaments for the smooth functioning of their own leagues. A staff of around 400 people were working for the Euro 2020. The postponement will undoubtedly take a toll on the personnel.
