Euro 2020 postponed until next year, leaves many dilemmas

Under different circumstances, the eyes of the footballing world would have been on Italy's capital, Rome, for the opening match of Euro 2020 this Friday, but instead the tournament was postponed for a year and UEFA is considering changes to unprecedented format in a Europe shaken by the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The competition will officially be called "Euro 2020", when it will finally start on June 11, 2021, apparently at the "Olimpico" stadium in Rome, which this Friday was supposed to host the opening match of the tournament between Italy and Turkey. That was before the health crisis forced European football's governing body to take action in mid-March and delay the tournament for 12 months after the continent became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three months since UEFA's decision to postpone the European for a year and Europe has already been traumatized by the impact the pandemic has had, leaving more than 180 confirmed deaths and over two million cases in total. Italy, which is supposed to be the first port of call for a European championship organized for the first time in 12 different countries, has suffered 34 thousand deaths from the coronavirus. Only the United Kingdom among European countries, with over 40 deaths, has been hit harder. The semi-finals and the final of "Euro 2020" will be played at the "Wembley" stadium in London. Many European countries are gradually emerging from lockdowns, but their economies are recovering and there are fears of a second wave of infections.

It will also take time for international travel restrictions to be lifted and possibly longer before governments deem it safe to allow large gatherings to fill the large stadiums set aside to host matches during Euro 2020.

In fact, these are the two main unknowns that UEFA must deal with at this time before the tournament begins. The body had already faced criticism, including from climate change campaigners, for its decision to spread the 24-team tournament across the continent, with matches played in places as far away as Dublin and Baku. However, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin recently hinted that the number of host cities could be reduced. In an interview for the "beIN Sports" television network, he admitted that there were "some issues" with three cities that were planned as organizers of the European Championship.

"So, we will discuss further, and in principle, we will do it in 12 cities. But if not, we are ready to do it in 10, nine or eight", Ceferin said.