Unic Press UK: UEFA has postponed its flagship national team competition, “UEFA EURO 2020” due to the global health crisis caused by COVID-19, an infection that has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The proposed new dates are 11 June to 11 July 2021.
In a statement Tuesday, the UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said:
“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.
“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.
“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.
UEFA EURO 2020 was initially scheduled to take place from 12 June to 12 July 2020.
