Euro 2020 rearranged for 2021 amidst coronavirus pandemic

March 17, 2020
By: Daniel Orme

Euro 2020 has become the latest major sporting competition to be impacted by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and has been rearranged for next summer.

The tournament, set to take place throughout Europe during the summer of 2020, had been in severe doubt for the past few days with the majority of the major European football leagues being suspended. In a statement released on Tuesday morning, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin confirmed the rearrangement.

He said: “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. It is at times like these that the football community needs to show responsibility, unity, solidarity and altruism.

“The health of fans, staff and players has to be our number one priority and, in that spirit, UEFA tabled a range of options so that competitions can finish this season safely and I am proud of the response of my colleagues across European football. There was a real spirit of cooperation, with everyone recognising that they had to sacrifice something in order to achieve the best result.

“It was important that, as the governing body of European football, UEFA led the process and made the biggest sacrifice. Moving EURO 2020 comes at a huge cost for UEFA but we will do our best to ensure that the vital funding for grassroots, women’s football and the development of the game in our 55 countries is not affected. Purpose over profit has been our guiding principle in taking this decision for the good of European football as a whole.

“Football is an uplifting and powerful force in society. The thought of celebrating a pan-European festival of football in empty stadia, with deserted fan zones while the continent sits at home in isolation, is a joyless one and one we could not accept to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the competition.”

The proposed new dates for Euro 2020 are now 11 June to 11 July 2021.

England at the current time favourites to win the competition at a price of 9/2 with Betfair.

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