The European Football Championship, which is scheduled for 2020 (otherwise referred to as Euro 2020), where will it be held? It is already known that it will become the sixteenth tournament of the European championship. This will be the second game, in the final round of which 24 teams will participate. The previous Euro of this format successfully ended in the summer of 2016.
Where will Euro 2020 take place?
The tournament takes place every 4 years as part of the international men's European football championship. The Euro is organized by UEFA and is usually held in one country, selected by a special commission through voting. However, an exception will be made in 2020. For the first time in history (where Euro 2020 football will be held already determined), matches will be held in 13 European cities of 13 states. This event, according to the words of the ex-president of the Federation Michel Platini, will be timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the championship. By the way, the winner of the first Euro in history 60 years ago was the team of the Soviet Union.
The specifics of the future tournament
At the same time, there is a less romantic reason - it is believed that such a decision was made in connection with the raging crisis in Europe, so that the host country would avoid large financial costs. The action will be one-time, and the next tournament in 2024 will be held according to a previously worked out scheme. Specific dates have not yet been determined, but everyone can already find out where Euro 2020 will be held. The current champion of the tournament will be Portugal, who won the Cup in 2016. Final and semifinal matches will be held in London at the famous Wembley Stadium. The winner of the competition will receive the right to participate in the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2021.
Format
Initially, the UEFA president announced the idea of holding a European Championship in a similar format right after the end of Euro 2012. In December 2012, following a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Football Federation in Lausanne, it was decided to hold a tournament in several European cities. Then the proposal was considered by national associations and discussed all the nuances It was also agreed that instead of the traditional 31 matches with 16 teams, it was proposed to hold 51 matches with 24 teams.
With regard to the host countries where Euro 2020 will be held, the UEFA announced its final decision on April 26, 2014: of the two declared participants for the final and semifinal matches, England won the vote, of the 19 countries declared for the other stages, 12 excelled. So, semifinal matches and finals will be held at the famous London stadium (England); matches of the group stage and the quarter finals will be held by 4 countries: Germany, Azerbaijan, Russia, Italy; other matches of the group stage and 1/16 will be held at the stadiums of Denmark, Romania, Holland, Ireland, Spain, Hungary, Belgium, Scotland. Thus, since 2014 it is known where Euro 2020 will take place.
The hosts hosting the tournament participants will qualify for participation in accordance with the general rules.
Qualification
No country will be allowed to play automatically, so all 55 national teams in UEFA and 13 host countries will qualify for participation in Euro 2020. Where the qualifying stage will be held will be announced later.
The main qualifiers will begin in March 2019 and will end in November of that year. According to the usual scheme, qualification should begin immediately after the end of the 2018 World Cup, in September. However, significant changes have occurred in the format of the qualification round.
The number of participants will also change, however, 20 teams will qualify, and a decision will be made regarding the remaining four teams after the outcome of a new tournament - the League of Nations, which will be held for the first time in 2018. Within the framework of this tournament, which will be held under the auspices of UEFA, the winning teams will be determined only in March 2020, a few months before the European championship. That is, up to the European Championship itself it will not be known which 4 teams will be selected to participate. It is interesting that the League of Nations is designed to replace the notorious friendly matches, so from 2018 it is planned to hold such competitions on a regular basis.
