Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has claimed that UEFA are considering staging the rescheduled 2020 European Championships in just one country due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The tournament – still branded Euro 2020 – had been originally intended to take place in multiple locations across the continent, with 12 different host cities from 12 different European countries: Amsterdam, Baku, Bilbao, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Glasgow, London, Munich, Rome and St Petersburg.
It is due to kick off on 11 June having already been delayed by a year as a result of coronavirus, but with the tournament format proposed prior to the pandemic, Rummenigge says Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin is now weighing up whether to alter the plans.
“We must not forget that the idea of this special hosting of the tournament came about when the coronavirus didn’t exist … it was an initiative of the EU Commission that wanted to have football shown all over Europe,” the Bayern CEO told German news men.
But I know that the Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin – who is incredibly careful with corona – is thinking about whether it wouldn’t make more sense in these times to play the tournament in just one country. That would be with a corresponding hygiene concept, of course.
In the next few weeks, UEFA will and must make a decision on how and where the tournament should take place. That will not be easy. But the way I got to know Aleksander Ceferin, UEFA will make the right decision with great care and wisdom.”
Ticket holders have been informed by Uefa that they will be entitled to a refund if matches are moved to over 50km away from their original venue. A decision on the tournament is expected in March, with Covid vaccination programmes currently beginning to be rolled out across Europe.