Bilbao, Dublin dropped as Euro hosts

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UEFA on Friday dropped Dublin and Bilbao as Euro 2020 hosts over a failure to guarantee fans’ attendance.

The four matches destined for Dublin will now be held in St Petersburg and London while Seville steps in to replace Bilbao, UEFA announced.

Munich was confirmed as a venue at the eleventh hour, the German city joining Budapest, Baku, Amsterdam, Bucharest, Glasgow, Copenhagen and Rome.

Held over from 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the European Championship will now be held in 11 different countries from June 11-July 11.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin welcomed being able to “guarantee a safe and festive environment” with fans “at every match”.

Dublin and Bilbao lost out after the Irish Government and Basque region officials were unable to assure UEFA of fans despite the pandemic.

Dublin’s three group matches go to St Petersburg, with Wembley the new venue for its round of 16 game.

Seville gets Bilbao’s three matches and round of 16 tie after its regional authority pledged the Estadio La Cartuja could be filled to 30 percent capacity.

UEFA said it had forced the switch “simply to allow fans to attend the games after a year of not being able to watch live football in stadiums”.

Budapest, St Petersburg, Baku, Amsterdam, Bucharest, Glasgow, Copenhagen, Rome and London had all promised crowds at between 25 percent and 100 percent of capacity in the run up to UEFA’s deadline this month.

Munich, venue for world champions France against Germany on June 15, got the go-ahead for their four matches after confirmation from local authorities they would be able “to welcome a minimum of 14,500 spectators”, UEFA’s statement confirmed.

The German FA, however, welcomed UEFA’s decision with caution.

Daily Pioneer
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