The highly anticipated UEFA Euro 2020 tournament faced an unprecedented challenge, leading to its postponement until 2021. This decision, spearheaded by UEFA, came as the football world grappled with the widespread disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The primary objective behind this move was to allow European domestic club competitions the necessary time to conclude by June 30th, if feasible, amidst the global health crisis.
This monumental decision to reschedule Euro 2020, with proposed dates from Friday, June 11th to Sunday, July 11th, 2021, was just one element of a comprehensive set of measures unveiled by football authorities. Alongside this, the likely postponement of the Women’s Euro, initially planned for the following summer, to 2022 was also considered. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin described the situation as “the biggest crisis that football faced in its history,” underscoring the gravity of the circumstances and the unified resolve to provide leadership during these turbulent times.
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During the crucial teleconference involving UEFA, all 55 European national football associations, the European Club Association, European Leagues, and FIFPro, the international players’ union, tentative dates were optimistically discussed for the culmination of club competitions. These included a provisional date of June 27th for the Champions League final and June 24th for the Europa League final. The discussions acknowledged the potential need to deviate from traditional calendar norms, such as Champions League midweek fixtures, to prioritize game completion as governmental health and travel regulations permitted.
To effectively address the multifaceted challenges, UEFA established two dedicated working groups. The first group was tasked with exploring viable strategies for the resumption and conclusion of the club season in a cohesive manner. The second group focused on a critical assessment of the economic, financial, and regulatory repercussions of the COVID-19 outbreak, aiming to formulate measures to mitigate the pandemic’s far-reaching consequences on football.
The ripple effects of the global health crisis extended beyond Europe. The Copa América, originally scheduled to coincide with Euro 2020 from June 11th to July 11th, 2021, was also postponed by the South American Football Confederation, demonstrating a unified global response to prioritize public safety. Furthermore, the African Nations Championship, planned for April in Cameroon and featuring players exclusively from domestic leagues, faced indefinite postponement.
In their public statements, both Ceferin and FIFA President Gianni Infantino emphasized the paramount importance of public health across Europe and the world. Infantino announced that FIFA would convene a conference call of its council bureau on Wednesday. During this call, he intended to propose a substantial $10 million donation to the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 solidarity response fund. Additionally, he planned to advocate for the creation of a global football assistance fund, designed to provide crucial support to members of the football community significantly impacted by the ongoing crisis.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Ceferin elaborated on the rationale behind the Euro 2020 postponement: “We all know that this terrible virus that is all across Europe made football, and all life in Europe, quite impossible. We knew we have to stop the competitions. We think that postponing the Euros is the only chance to get a chance [for] the national leagues and all the club competitions to finish their competitions. That is not sure for now. But we should now think about … health, the [families] of the players, and the players. And of course, we have to think about football as a whole, the whole ecosystem of football. That’s why we have decided today that we postponed the Euro and we have 100% full support of all 55 national associations, European Leagues, European Club Association and Fifpro.”
Ceferin acknowledged the significant financial implications of postponing the Euros, estimating a hit of “hundreds of millions of Euros.” He referenced UEFA’s 2018 announcement projecting revenues exceeding €1 billion (£910 million) from 2020-24, with allocations including €371 million for tournament prize money and €775 million for national associations’ football development programs. UEFA officials had consistently highlighted the critical dependence of up to 40 nations, whose domestic football economies are considerably smaller than those of major footballing nations, on this vital funding.
Despite the postponement, Ceferin affirmed the intention to maintain the innovative format of Euro 2020, with hosting duties distributed across 12 cities in 12 different countries, encompassing Dublin, Glasgow, and London, where the final was originally scheduled at Wembley Stadium on July 12th of this year. “The plan is to have the same venues, the same cities, the same stadiums,” Ceferin stated. “But if anything gets complicated, then we can as well do it with 11, then nine or less stadiums. But the plan is that everything stays the same.”
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Looking ahead, the Women’s European Championship, initially scheduled in England from July 7th to August 1st of the following year, was deemed “most likely” to be postponed to the summer of 2022. This adjustment was considered a more pragmatic approach, particularly with the Qatar World Cup 2022 commencing in November. Ceferin indicated that the postponement consideration also extended to the under-21 championship, emphasizing the desire to avoid “cannibalising the women’s Euro, with the men’s Euro just one month before.”
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Mark Bullingham, the FA’s chief executive, conveyed the organization’s full support for UEFA’s decision following the conference. “People’s health and wellbeing has to be the primary concern for us all, so we fully support UEFA’s decision to postpone Euro 2020. We will be considering the implications for all England teams and our organisation over the coming days, including any implications on the date of the 2021 women’s Euro which we are very proud to be hosting. We will continue to work in collaboration with the PL, EFL and our football partners on the scenarios that could follow UEFA’s decision today.”
Echoing this sentiment, the ECA pledged its active participation in the working group, aiming “to develop and shape the practicalities around managing the calendar to maximise the chances of concluding the remaining club games of the 2019-20 season and tackle the wider consequences of Covid-19 on the game.” The collective response from football’s governing bodies and stakeholders underscored a unified front in navigating the complexities and prioritizing the well-being of the global football community during the unprecedented 2020 crisis.
