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The host cities for the Euro 2020 tournament announced in Geneva
London's Wembley Stadium will host the final and semifinals
13 cities across the continent will stage matches
The tournament is being played across Europe to celebrate its 60th anniversary
Just like a Rolling Stone … It’s football’s answer to rock and roll’s arena tours.
Thirteen cities from Baku to Bilbao in a month-long roadshow, culminating in a London finale at the famous Wembley Stadium.
With a schedule that would leave even Mick Jagger breathless, the Euro 2020 tournament will be soccer as you’ve never seen it before.
Every four years, Europe’s finest football nations battle to be crowned kings of the continent.
In six years’ time, to celebrate the competition’s 60th anniversary, matches will be played in 13 different countries from Ireland to Azerbaijan.
Ordinarily, the tournament is hosted or co-hosted by one or two countries.
This time the final and semifinals will be held in England, which hosted the tournament back in 1996.
“It will be a great honor to be part of what will surely be a superb celebration of 60 years of the UEFA European Championship,” English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke said in a statement.
“Having seen the impact that a home Olympic Games had on young sportsmen and women in our country, I hope that UEFA Euro 2020 serves as a similar incentive for our most promising players to realize their full potential over the next six years.”
The England team has some work to do if it is to live up to Dyke’s lofty aims after its miserable group stage exit at this year’s World Cup in Brazil.
Turkey had at one stage been tipped as the sole host of the tournament, but it withdrew to focus on bidding for the 2020 Olympics – which was subsequently awarded to Tokyo last year.
Hosting the event across a number of countries – which UEFA confirmed it would do in late 2012 – lightens the financial burden of putting on a large-scale sporting event.
However, concerns have been raised over the financial and logistical difficulties fans could encounter traveling across a continent to support their team.
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Euro 2020 host cities in full:
London - Final and semifinals
Baku - Three group stage matches, one quarterfinal
Munich - Three group stage matches, one quarterfinal
Rome - Three group stage matches, one quarterfinal
Saint Petersburg - Three group stage matches, one quarterfinal
Brussels - Three group stage matches, one round of 16 match
Copenhagen - Three group stage matches, one round of 16 match
Budapest - Three group stage matches, one round of 16 match
Amsterdam - Three group stage matches, one round of 16 match
Dublin - Three group stage matches, one round of 16 match
Bucharest - Three group stage matches, one round of 16 match
Glasgow - Three group stage matches, one round of 16 match
Bilbao - Three group stage matches, one round of 16 match
