Euro 2020: why Uefa's European tour might benefit the Euros

Last updated on .From the section Football
Uefa's decision to host Euro 2020 in 12 different cities is unquestionably groundbreaking.
There will also be those who say it's bonkers.
Spreading a summer football tournament across a whole continent will deny fans the chance to soak up the cultures of host countries and rob hosts of the international focus and tourism benefits.
With the Euros set to expand to 24 teams from 2016 - with those finals to be staged in France - will the tournament come to feel a bit disjointed?
Then there are the logistical considerations of teams and fans criss-crossing the whole of Europe to get to and from matches.
But when the inevitable outcry has died down, it's maybe not such a bad idea.
A "Euros for Europe", as Uefa president Michel Platini put it, would take the pressure off hosts to deliver 10 or maybe more stadiums capable of hosting big international games.
In times of economic uncertainty in the Eurozone, Platini knows only a handful of countries have the money and the infrastructure to put on a mega event like this.
The experience of Ukraine and Poland was a big lesson for Uefa that taking such events to new territories has many potential benefits in opening up new markets but can cause a lot of stress along the way. Anyone who attended Euro 2012 will tell you it felt like two separate events and that the distances between the two countries were too great.
By hosting Euro 2020 in lots of countries, Platini will be able to keep to his promise - one that helped get him elected - to bring the smaller European nations to football's top table.
Besides, top players are used to flying across the continent to play in a big European tournament - it's called the Champions League.
Interestingly, this development has only come about because Turkey, the favourites to host the Euros in 2020, are bidding for the Olympics in the same year. Istanbul is the front runner there as well and Uefa knew it couldn't stage both.
For England and the Football Association, it opens up the enticing prospect of staging the Euro 2020 final without the risk of having to launch another expensive and high-profile bidding campaign.
I understand Platini met FA chairman David Bernstein and Sports Minister Hugh Robertson two weeks ago in London. The possibility of a Euro 2020 bid had already been discussed internally at the FA and Bernstein wanted to see whether Platini would support an English bid if Turkey pulled out.
Today's decision ends that debate but after what happened to England in the doomed 2018 World Cup bid contest this will be seen as a big opportunity for the FA - without the prospect of humiliation on the international stage.
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Seeing as license fee payers will be the ones picking up the bill of the BBC flying staff all over Europe, not you, you don't consider cost to be a pressing concern?
The guys that pay thousands & use most of their holidays to follow their team for years & years.Not a journo on expenses or some corporate fan their looking for their face painted 15 mins of fame. UEFA aren't interested in saving countries or fans money-only in engaging more countries venue streams,corporates,advertisers etc
We could host it tomorrow without building a single stadium.
Group A - London - Wembley & Emirates
Group B - East Midlands - City Ground & KP Stadium
Group C - West Midlands - Villa Park & Ricoh Arena
Group D - North-West - Old Trafford & Anfield
Group E - Yorkshire & Humber - Elland Road & Hillsborough
Group F - North-East - St James' Park & Stadium of Light
Well done Platini, you've excelled yourself in destroying traditions for the sake of money. After all, who cares about the fans or the football, money's the only thing Uefa are interested in.
Yes, you can pick the best and biggest stadia, but so what? Instead of 99% of people missing out who want to be there, you now have 98% missing out. But that 1% is huge in revenue.
Group 1 plays at Stockholm and Copenhagen
Group 2 plays at Edinburgh and Manchester
Group 3 plays at Dublin and Cardiff
Group 4 plays Munich and Vienna
Group 5 plays at Athens and Istanbul
Group 6 plays at Marseille and Lisbon
Quarter-Final venues at Rome,Paris,Madrid,Berlin
Semi-Final venues at Dortmund and Barcelona
Final at London
The vibe of euro 96, different fans from different countries soaking up the culture of one country.
International football will lose alot of its identity if this becomes a more permanent fixture.
Will it be 8 groups of 3 or 4 groups of 6?
Having 24 "Finalists" is nonsense. That's almost half of UEFA affiliates, and they include Andorra, Faeroes, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino.