Euro 2020

[reindeer 58]

The best Euros for me by far was the first joint hosting in 2000 in Benelux (minus Lux). This year's edition was a decent one but pretty boring in the end. It's not necessarily the host nations' fault as they can't affect how the matches are played and what the teams are like. Well, except for being so bad themselves that they both got stuck in the group phase.

[Scotguy 330]

People are being very quick to dismiss the Celtic bid but:

A minimum 9 stadiums with 3 reserve locations in case of delays or an inability to meet requirements

Two stadia of 50,000 seats +

Three stadia of 40,000 seats +

Four stadia of 30,000 seats +

Scotland

Edinburgh Murrayfield - 67, 50

Edinburgh Easter Road - 20,250

Edinburgh Tynecastle - 18,300

Glasgow

Glasgow Celtic Park - 60,506

Glasgow Hampden - 52,000

Glasgow Ibrox - 51, 080

Aberdeen

Aberdeen Pittodre - 22,200

Wales

Cardiff Millenium Stadium - 74,500

Cardiff City Stadium - 26,828

Irish Republic

Dublin Croke Park - 82,300

Dublin Aviva Stadium - 50,000

Add to this the good amounts of hotels and infrastructure present in these countries plus the 45 minutes of so flight times between each country, how can people put this bid down more so than say Turkey or Azerbaijan/Georgia

[Rob. 2046]

Too many stadiums in single cities would be the biggest problem for the Celtic bid.

[Scotguy 330]

It would still be easier to get around than travelling across Turkey or Georgia - Azerbaijan. I think people would prefer to stay in the one areas within the host countries.

[Rob. 2046]

I think a lot of people would prefer it, you're right, but I think UEFA generally prefer to have tournaments with as many different cities on show as possible. And it's UEFA you have to win over with whatever plan is submitted.

[Scotguy 330]

Yeah, you right Rob, We know by now that FIFA and to a lesser extent UEFA don't do what's best for football and the fans but follow their pockets and profiles.

I'm not just being biased but i do think that Celtic tournament would have more atmosphere and love for football than either Turkey or Azerbaijan/Georgia.

[intoronto 650]

Turkey has the advantage over the Celtic bid. Clearly UEFA has allowed extra time to bid because it isn't happy with the bids outside Turkey's

[Rob. 2046]

Yeah, you right Rob, We know by now that FIFA and to a lesser extent UEFA don't do what's best for football and the fans but follow their pockets and profiles.

I'm not just being biased but i do think that Celtic tournament would have more atmosphere and love for football than either Turkey or Azerbaijan/Georgia.

It'll certainly be better than Arebaijan (little footballing profile) and Georgian (a Rugby nation). But Turkey is football mad, Istanbul especially. In fact, Turkey/Istanbul is very comparable to Scotland/Glasgow in lots of ways. Small league but with one city containing all the mega-clubs, and properly intense rivalries between those clubs too.

[Blacksheep 42]

A geographical spread of cities is not done in FIFA/UEFA's favour but is designed for the advantage of fans to get as much opportunity to see games as possible, rather than concentrate in a few cities which would lead to a huge increase in accommodation prices. Otherwise money saved on accommodation, is spent on travel.

Once there was a candidate for a games, the following 18month period does allow for multiple extra bids to be entered even if they missed the initial deadline.

The minimum capacity required is about 33,000 seats as 10% are not used. That is why the Ukrainians needed to add Kharkov to their cities even though it had not initially been considered.

Spain (1964), Italy (1980) and Germany (West Germany 1988) could all hold the Euros at short notice and at little cost as they have the stadia in place.

Germany could essentially use the stadia used in 2006 but could also choose to use venues in Bremen, Dusseldorf and Monchengladbach instead.

Spain could use most of the venues suggested in their 2018 bid - Barcelona Nou Camp, Madrid Bernabeu, Valencia Nou Mestalla, Madrid Olympic, Seville La Cartuja, Barcelona Olympic, Bilbao San Mames, Barcelona El Prat, Elche, Murcia, La Coruna, Vigo, Zaragoza - most of which are built or being built.

Italy could use a number of the venues they proposed for 2016 and could even drop any new build stadium suggestions for existing sites. A number of venues used in 1990 could be there and simply need a lick of paint - Turin, Genoa, Milan, Verona, Florence, Rome, Bari, Naples, Udine, Bolgona and Palermo.

For Spain and Italy the cost of hosting a football championships are small from a footballing perspective but could be an economic catalyst, and it would not surprise me if some candidate throw their hat into the ring at the last moment ... which they are able to do. Spain has additionally never held a proper Euro Championship as 1964 only involved 4 teams

[gotosy 493]

FA of Wales hopeful over Michel Platini's Euro 2020 plan

The proposal to spread the European Championship over various cities in Europe gives Wales great hope of being hosts, says Football Association of Wales (FAW) chief Jonathan Ford.

Uefa president Michel Platini has suggested Euro 2020 could be staged in "12 or 13 countries".

Wales have already made a formal declaration of interest to host the event with Scotland and Ireland.

And Ford says the FAW will want Cardiff to be a "host city" in Platini's plan.

"I think 2020 is a real opportunity for us," he believes.

"We are definitely, I'm sure, putting a declaration of interest forward, as we've done with the Celtic nations, to ensure that ultimately we get the best football played here in Wales."

...

Platini caused a stir at Euro 2012 when he said the championship in 2020 could be spread across various cities in Europe, rather than having one or two countries as hosts.

The finals will have been expanded from 16 to 24 teams by then, which could rule out many of the continents smaller countries as potential hosts.

Turkey had been favourite to be the 2020 hosts, but their bid has hit difficulties because of a desire to stage the Olympic Games in Istanbul in the same year.

As a result, Wales have joined Scotland and the Republic of Ireland in formally declaring an interest to join the race.

"We always knew that alone we cannot bid for a tournament that's got 24 teams," Ford explained.

"We'd always have to join forces with others. Whether that's joining forces with England, whether that's joining forces with Scotland and Ireland as we have done with our Celtic declaration of interest, either way if we are a host city or a host country it's the same.

"Ultimately we want to see great European football happening here."

BBC

[Blacksheep 42]

a British bid (England, Scotland, Wales) could be interesting and maybe better than a Celtic bid.

Whilst England could host alone, the same could be said of Spain's World Cup bid, yet they still chose to go with a dual bid with Portugal.

A 24 team competition with 3 host nations would still add 7 extra teams able to qualify - 14/16 for 2012 becomes 21/24 for 2020. As the current Olympics have shown, the British give support to all competitors.

And the venues:

Wales

- Cardiff, the Millenium Stadium - 73,500 seats

Scotland

- Edinburgh, Murrayfield - 67,500 seats

- Glasgow, Hampden Park - 52,000 seats

England

- London, Wembley - 90,000 seats

- London, one of the Emirates, the Olympic Stadium, new Tottenham Stadium - all around 60,000 seats

- Birmingham, Villa Park - 50,000 seats

- North East, Newcastle (52,000 seats) or Sunderland (49,000 seats)

- Leeds, Elland Road - 40,000 seats

- Manchester, Old Trafford - 75,000 seats

- Liverpool, Anfield (45,000 seats) or Stanley Park (60,000 seats)

- East Midlands - one of Nottingham, Derby, Leicester (either expandable or new build to 45,000 seats)

- Southampton - expanded to 45,000 seats

due to the wealth of the Premiership little public money would be required for stadium upgrades and there is a proven track record of host multi site international events - Cricket World Cup, Rugby World Cup, Euro1996, London2012 etc

[emre 92]

Wow, that's out of the blue.

Think though. Tokyo 2020 wins the Olympics then UEFA pulls the rug from under Turkey's feet and awards Euro 2020 to......erm, Europe!

Imagine Emre's face! (sorry)

hey we still have expo 2020

[Brodie 3]

A British bid can't happen, not just because England wouldn't need it but because any cooperation by those 4 FAs would be seen as a potential threat to their independent status. There are still a lot of people freaking out over this whole Olympic team thing because they're SURE Blatter's just waiting until next week to make it permanent.

[intoronto 650]

I don;t know why if they bid it jeopardizes their independent status.

[Blacksheep 42]

I don;t know why if they bid it jeopardizes their independent status.

It wouldn't

[zigzag 40]

hey we still have expo 2020

the expo??? never heard of turkey's bid for expo 2020 any details???

[gotosy 493]

the expo??? never heard of turkey's bid for expo 2020 any details???

we have a World Expo thread here:

[gotosy 493]

Wembley in line to host Euro 2020 final

UEFA want the European Championships in eight years' time to be held in a dozen different countries, a one-off arrangement to mark the organisation's 60th anniversary.

And the iconic London stadium is reportedly "hot favourite" to stage not only the final, but also the two semi-finals as part of a 'finals week' that will mark the culmination of the 24-team tournament.

The idea of holding the tournament across 12 different nations has split fans, with many keen on a novel approach to a big event while others fear that the unique tournament atmosphere will be lost.

UEFA delegates are set to vote in December about the 12 nation proposal, which was first floated by UEFA president Michel Platini during Euro 2012.

A final decision will be taken in January or February next year, but the powerful Frenchman seems to be throwing all his weight behind it.

"It's an idea I feel really passionate about, it will be a lot easier from a financial perspective," he said.

"It is the political decision that needs to be made. We wouldn't have to build stadiums or airports. That could be important in an economic crisis."

http://au.eurosport....655/story.shtml

[Brekkie Boy 73]

Why can't he just admit that extending it to 24 teams has just made it too big for most European countries to host - indeed for most 16 teams was too many and they had to co-host.

[Rob. 2046]

UEFA doesn't want to reward the Turkish FA given the problems there, and their other options look limited. The big guns haven't come out - i.e. those countries that could fairly comfortably host a 24 team tournament. UEFA is in an awkward position.

They bloody love Wembley though - 2011 and 2013 Champions League final and talk it'll host the Euro 2020 final. I think it's easy to see why. Huge capacity, high ticket prices meaning big profitd, massive amounts of corporate entertainment facilities built in. I honestly can't believe during England's World Cup bid some people here were questioning our bid on the basis that was "no room for sponsors tents" around it. You don't need tents when the stadium itself is like a small town!

[Crusader 12]

Wembley in line to host Euro 2020 final

UEFA want the European Championships in eight years' time to be held in a dozen different countries, a one-off arrangement to mark the organisation's 60th anniversary.

And the iconic London stadium is reportedly "hot favourite" to stage not only the final, but also the two semi-finals as part of a 'finals week' that will mark the culmination of the 24-team tournament.

The idea of holding the tournament across 12 different nations has split fans, with many keen on a novel approach to a big event while others fear that the unique tournament atmosphere will be lost.

UEFA delegates are set to vote in December about the 12 nation proposal, which was first floated by UEFA president Michel Platini during Euro 2012.

A final decision will be taken in January or February next year, but the powerful Frenchman seems to be throwing all his weight behind it.

"It's an idea I feel really passionate about, it will be a lot easier from a financial perspective," he said.

"It is the political decision that needs to be made. We wouldn't have to build stadiums or airports. That could be important in an economic crisis."

http://au.eurosport....655/story.shtml

This is still an idiotic decision.

Platini should just go to England, Germany or Spain and ask them

Alternatively he could go to Scandinavia and ask the Swedes, Danes, Norwegians to host. All 3 would likely qualify anyway and the 3 have previously expressed strong interest in hosting the tournament proposing at very points a 4 Nation bid, Sweden-Denmark and then much to the Danes annoyance, a Sweden-Norway bid.

Base the home nation, and two of the 6 groupds in one of the bidding countries each - a total of 12 group games in each country so 4 games at each stadium

They are also not too far off actually having enough venues with some modifications

Oslo

the Ulleval currently holds just under 26,000 seats. There has been talk of a new 55,000 seat National Stadium which would also be great for Oslo 2022

Trondheim

The Lerkendal, home of Rosenborg has previously had plans to expand beyond 30,000 seats

Bergen or Stavanger

Brann have for ages needed a new stadium. The Viking Stadiun in Stavanger was designed with the possibility of adding a new tier

Solna

the new 50,000 seat Friends Arena is almost finished

Stockholm

the 30,000 seat Hammarby stadium is progressing downtown

Gothenburg

the Ullevi already holds in excess of 40,000 seats

Copenhagen

the Parken has recently been upgraded and holds just under 40,000 seats

Brondby

adding an extra tier to the Brondby Stadium would make it broadly comparable with the Parken

Aarhus

there has been discussions of building a 30,000+ seat stadium to replace NRGI Park

Opening Game: Oslo

QFs: Oslo, Solna, Gothenburg, Copenhagen

SFs: Oslo, Solna

F: Solna

50K grounds: Oslo, Solna

40K grounds: Gothenburg, Brondby, Copenhagen

30K grounds: Aarhus, Stockholm, Trondhein, Brann or Stavanger.

[gotosy 493]

FIFA U-20 Tournament Set to Boost Turkey's Euro 2020 Ambitions

(WFI) FIFA president Sepp Blatter claims the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey will be a good test of the country’s potential to stage future international events such as Euro 2020.

The 24-team tournament, the same size as UEFA’s proposed Euro 2020 format, will feature 52 matches played across 23 days in seven venues – FIFA’s second biggest competition is set to be the largest football event ever to held in Turkey.

Speaking at the U-20 World Cup Summit in Zurich today, Blatter suggested a well-run tournament next year would boost Turkey’s ambitions to secure more high-profile sporting events.

The government is backing Istanbul’s 2020 Olympics bid, while the Turkish FA has expressed interest in pitching for UEFA Euro 2020 if that bid fails.

“The performance will be a good rehearsal for organisations to be made in the future,” he was quoted as saying on the Turkish Football Federation’s website.

Blatter underlined that FIFA had entrusted Turkey with organising its second largest competition and stated his confidence in the country’s abilities to put on a good show.

At the summit today, which was broadcast live on Turkish television, Blatter was joined by FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, UEFA vice president and FIFA Ex-Co member Senes Erzik and Turkish FA officials including president Yildirim Demirören and secretary general Emre Alkin. The governors and mayors of the seven host cities were also present.

Erzik insisted that Turkey would not disappoint and would hold a high-level tournament that would make FIFA and his country proud.

Turkish FA board member Mehmet Baykan said Turkey had a strong track record of staging international sports events, including the IAAF 2012 World Indoor Athletics Championship held in Istanbul.

He said Turkey was ready and willing to stage many more events which, without referencing directly, he appeared to be referring to those of the magnitude of Euro 2020 or the Olympics.

Although the Turkish FA wants to bid for UEFA’s newly-expanded quadrennial championships after losing out on Euro 2016 to France, its quest is hampered by the Istanbul 2020 Olympic bid that comes with government support. The IOC will choose between the Turkish city, Madrid and Tokyo in a secret ballot at a meeting in Buenos Aires on Sept. 7, 2013.

Turkey were the only Euro 2020 bidder in May but UEFA president Michel Platini has since reopened the bidding process to member FAs.

With Euro 2020 marking the 60th anniversary since the first European Football Championship, the Frenchman in July also floated the idea of UEFA holding the competition in "12 or 13 cities" across Europe. Platini said it would make the tournament organisation easier, reducing the need for countries to invest heavily in venues and transport infrastructure.

Discussions are underway with UEFA’s 53 member federations with a decision due on the matter later this year. The UEFA Ex-Co will publish its detailed bid regulations in December. Football associations interested in bidding will then be asked to prepare bid documentation to submit bids by September 2013.

These will be evaluated before the announcement of the Euro 2020 host(s) is made in May 2014.

The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup will be staged in Istanbul, Kayseri, Antalya, Bursa, Gaziantep, Rize and Trabzon from June 21 to July 13 next year.

The Turkish FA is aiming to improve on the 2011 edition in Colombia and is targeting a new ticket sales record. It hopes to sell just under 1.5 million tickets.

http://www.worldfoot...y.aspx?id=35341

[gotosy 493]

Platini says national FAs will decide on multi-country Euro 2020

(Reuters) - UEFA will only press ahead with the idea of staging Euro 2020 across the continent if member associations are in favour of the plan, president Michel Platini said on Monday.

The Frenchman said European soccer's governing body was waiting for feedback on its proposal, first announced at the end of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, which he added would be a one-off.

"If the idea is appealing to them we will enter into details to see how we can organise a Euro in several European cities but only in 2020 mind you," Platini told reporters in St Petersburg after a meeting of UEFA's executive committee.

Platini said the competition, which will be expanded from 16 to 24 teams from 2016, would be too costly for many countries to stage on their own.

His idea of having matches in 12 or 13 nations with the final stages in one venue will be discussed by the executive board in December with a decision made early next year.

Turkey have expressed a wish to stage the tournament on a conventional single-country basis but their bid will be dropped if Istanbul is awarded the Olympics in the same year.

Scotland, Wales and Ireland have also declared their interest in staging the finals.

http://uk.eurosport....49361--sow.html

[gotosy 493]

Platini insists he has not given Turkey an ultimatum

October 1 - UEFA President Michel Platini reiterated today he has not given Turkey an ultimatum with regard to the 2020 European Championship finals but that "it was not logical" for the country to maintain their interest if Istanbul stages the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in the same year.

Platini has been widely quoted as saying he wants the 2020 finals to be spread across 12 European cities rather than take place in one country but only adopted that stance once Turkey's bid became increasingly unworkable.

Platini said the matter was not entirely closed but that he couldn't see a way for Turkey to be granted host status.

"We haven't given them an ultimatum but it's very difficult to take position concerning Euro 2020 given that Istanbul wants to host the Olympics 10 days later," he told a news conference following a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in St Petersburg.

"It's not logical for Turkey to present their candidacy for two different events.

"We've told them it's not logical to pursue this and they have upheld their position concerning the Olympic Games so for the Euros we might come to a different decision."

...

http://www.insidethe...y-an-ultimatum-

[intoronto 650]

Have Azerbaijan/Georgia dropped their bid?