Taking a tough decision that became more inevitable by the day, the governing body of European soccer postponed its marquee championship for one year on Tuesday.
Euro 2020 became Euro 2021 in a major shift for an international soccer calendar that is on lockdown because of the coronavirus outbreak and with no clear end in sight.
The virus currently “makes football and all life in Europe quite impossible,” UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said.
The tournament that was due to open on June 12 in Rome is now scheduled for next year from June 11 to July 11, in the same 12 host nations.
It is far from clear when the public health crisis could ease enough for European soccer to resume. Still, taking Euro 2020 off the calendar clears valuable weeks in June when domestic leagues and cups, and the Champions League and Europa League, could be completed.
“We think postponing the Euro is the only (way) to get a chance to the national leagues and to all the club competitions to finish,” Ceferin said.
The UEFA executive committee made the decision after hosting a video conference call with its 55 national member federations.
The European Championship final typically attracts a broadcast audience of 300 million worldwide and the 51-game tournament made UEFA a profit of 830 million euros ($912 million) four years ago.
“Moving Euro 2020 comes at a huge cost for UEFA,” Ceferin said in a statement.
In a later interview with The Associated Press, Ceferin estimated the cost of postponing the tournament at “hundreds of millions” of euros (dollars). UEFA reported reserves of 574.8 million euros ($632 million) in its annual accounts published this month.
Playing in June 2021 also takes match dates from other national team games for which UEFA already sold broadcast and sponsor rights.
Tuesday's decision was taken after intense talks with UEFA's member and the leaders of European club soccer.
Euro 2020 was scheduled to be played in a dozen countries from Ireland to Azerbaijan, and Russia to Italy. A one-year postponement became UEFA’s favored option last week.
“The health of all those involved in the game is the priority, as well as to avoid placing any unnecessary pressure on national public services involved in staging matches,” UEFA said.
The freeze on games amid the pandemic has also put broadcasting deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars on hold and could lead to the 2019-20 season being annulled in some competitions.
UEFA’s first call on Tuesday was with leaders of the European Club Association and European Leagues groups, plus the FIFPro players’ union.
Completing domestic league seasons would allow titles to be awarded and decide entries for the next Champions League and Europa League. The first qualifying games are already scheduled for late June.
If resuming the season is possible, UEFA’s options to complete this season include playing the quarterfinals and semifinals as single games instead of over two legs where each team has a home match.
One option, revealed by the Polish soccer federation, is for Champions League games to take the most attractive weekend slots, while domestic leagues play midweek.
The Champions League final is scheduled for May 30 in Istanbul, but the Turkish city could also be asked host the semifinals in a mini-tournament at a later date. The likely last available date to play the final is June 27.
Also, 16 of UEFA’s members are involved in the Euro 2020 playoffs, which were scheduled to be played on March 26 and 31. They will decide the last four entries in the 24-nation final tournament, and could now be played in early June.
Postponing Euro 2020 has also created a backlog of national team games in a packed calendar managed by FIFA.
In a coordinated move, UEFA was followed Tuesday by South American soccer body CONMEBOL, which postponed the Copa America one year to the same playing dates.
Lionel Messi and Neymar would now be cleared to play for their European clubs if games resume this season.
June 2021 was occupied by the UEFA Nations League final tournament of four teams, plus the start of FIFA’s inaugural 24-team Club World Cup. It is due to be hosted in China and feature eight European clubs but no broadcasting or sponsor deals have yet been announced.
“I would like to thank FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, who has indicated it will do whatever is required to make this new calendar work,” Ceferin said.
In a FIFA statement, Infantino said he was ready to ask China's government and soccer federation to accept a delay of the Club World Cup. That means the tournament could be played later in 2021, or in either of the next two years.
“Particularly in football, finding appropriate and fair solutions at global level is imperative,” said Infantino, who will propose the changes in a call Wednesday with a panel of his vice presidents.
Qualifying games for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar are also scheduled for June 2021 in most European countries. There is currently no space in the calendar to reschedule all those games, and a reduced qualifying program will likely have to be considered.
However, any cuts in national team matches will impact member federations' revenue and centralized broadcasting deals managed by UEFA.
Infantino said new dates for national-team games affected by the pandemic could be published at the end of April.
AP Newsroom
Wed Mar 18 2020
File photo the Euro soccer championships trophy is seen in front of the logo during the presentation of Munich's logo as one of the host cities of the Euro 2020 European soccer championships in Germany. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
TH anjur Kursus Perdana Haji bermula hari ini hingga 5 Mei 2024
Sepanjang kursus selama satu setengah hari ini, bakal-bakal haji akan melalui praktikal seperti bertawaf, sa'ie, melontar jamrah dan ibadat haji lain secara berkumpulan.
Jenazah Tun Hanif Omar dikebumi di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Bukit Kiara
Jenazah Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar akan dikebumikan di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Bukit Kiara.
Wanita ditahan bantu siasatan kes simbah OKU dengan air panas
Polis menahan seorang wanita bagi membantu siasatan kejadian seorang lelaki sindrom Down melecur pada bahagian badan disyaki akibat disimbah air panas ketika berada di dalam lif.
Kepimpinan MPN PKR Sabah: Tiada nama spesifik dibincangkan - Fahmi
Ketua Penerangan PKR Fahmi Fadzil berkata tiada nama spesifik yang dibincangkan berkaitan kepimpinan Majlis Pimpinan Negeri (MPN) PKR Sabah.
Pemergian Tun Hanif kehilangan buat negara - Musa Hassan
Pemergian bekas Ketua Polis Negara (KPN) Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar adalah satu kerugian buat negara.
Wanita maut, dua lelaki parah kereta langgar pokok
Seorang wanita maut, manakala dua lelaki cedera parah selepas kereta dinaiki mereka terbabas sebelum melanggar sebatang pokok di tepi jalan dalam kemalangan di Jalan Macalister awal hari ini.
Israel perlu waspada jika negara Asia Barat masuk campur
Israel seharusnya mengambil pengajaran daripada konflik dengan Iran supaya tindak bertindak sewenang-wenangnya mencabuli hak rakyat Islam, terutamanya Palestin.
AWANI Ringkas: PM: Isu PKR Sabah akan diselesaikan segera
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
DNB nafi dakwaan tidak telus dalam menjalankan operasi dalaman
Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) dengan tegas menafikan dakwaan bertindak tidak telus dalam menjalankan operasi dalaman serta menolak sebarang gambaran negatif terhadap amalan tadbir urus dan perolehannya.
Adakah ia akan mencetuskan perang lebih besar & dahsyat di Asia Barat?
Prof. Dr. Mizan Mohammad Aslam, Jabatan Hubungan Antarabangsa, Keselamatan dan Undang-Undang
Liga Juara-Juara: Dua gol Messi bantu Barcelona benam Liverpool
Beraksi di Nou Camp, persembahan cemerlang Messi itu turut membantu penyerang dari Argentina itu mencatatkan gol peribadi ke 600 buat pasukan Catalan itu.
United masih jauh ketinggalan - Solskjaer
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer mencadangkan masa diperlukan Manchester United untuk mencapai tahap yang sama seperti Barcelona selepas tersingkir daripada Liga Juara-Juara, awal pagi tadi.
Liga Juara-Juara Eropah & Liga Europa: Astro bekerjasama dengan beIN
Astro melanjutkan kerjasama dengan beIN Asia Pacific untuk menyiarkan Liga Juara-Juara Eropah & Liga Europa sehingga musim 2020/21.
Dekat mana boleh tonton siaran UEFA Champions League?
Jadual penuh siaran langsung perlawanan UEFA Champions League di Astro.
Ronaldo tinggalkan Madrid buat Rakitic ceria
Langkah Cristiano Ronaldo meninggalkan Real Madrid akan menjadikan pemain tengah Barcelona, Ivan Rakitic, bahagia.
Zidane nafi tinggalkan Real Madrid demi Les Bleus
Zinedine Zidane menegaskan dia tidak meninggalkan Real Madrid hanya kerana ingin mengambil alih skuad Perancis.
John Terry tinggalkan Aston Villa
John Terry akan meninggalkan Aston Villa selepas hanya beraksi satu musim selepas mereka gagal melayakkan diri ke Liga Perdana Inggeris dari Liga Kejuaraan.
Petisyen hukum Sergio Ramos cecah 279,000 tandatangan
Satu petisyen diwujudkan bagi menghukum Ramos yang dikatakan sengaja mencederakan Mohamad Salah.
Super Bale sinks Liverpool as Madrid make it three in a row
A sensational overhead goal from Real Madrid substitute Gareth Bale and two calamitous errors by Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius gave the Spanish side a third straight Champions League crown.
#FinalUCL: Tiada laluan mudah buat Liverpool atau Real Madrid
Penyokong Liverpool & Real Madrid berdebar menanti final Liga Juara-Juara Eropah (UCL).