TASS
A decision regarding the European cities, which will host matches of the rescheduled 2020 UEFA Euro Cup, is likely to be made on April 30, Alexei Sorokin, the head of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Russia-2020, told TASS on Thursday.
Britain’s Daily Mail reported earlier in the day that the European governing body of football was considering the alteration of the multi-country format of the rescheduled Euro Cup, stating in particular that Italy’s Rome and Bilbao were likely to withdraw from the organization of matches due to the consequences of the ongoing global spread of the novel coronavirus.
"I would rather listen to UEFA’s official statements instead of opinions voiced by particular media outlets, although they are respected media outlets," Sorokin, who also serves as a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, said.
"As of today, all host cities are participating in regular videoconferences and we have discussions with all of them," Sorokin continued. "We will reach the all-embracing understanding before the deadline on the application of documents, which must confirm the extension of all guarantees for the next year."
"It will be the indication whether a particular host city is ready or not to carry on [with the organization of the UEFA Euro Cup matches]," the UEFA official said.
"All host cities have time to think it over until the end of the month," Sorokin said. "Everything will be clear on April 30, when we know which of the Euro Cup host cities will carry on with the organization of the Euro Cup matches and which of them decide to quit this process."
On March 17, UEFA decided to postpone the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup for exactly one year as a preventive measure against COVID-19. The championship is now scheduled to be held between June 11 and July 11, 2021. The European governing body of football also announced on March 13 the suspension of the Champions League and Europa League matches.
The matches of the 2020 Euro Cup were initially scheduled to be held at stadiums in 12 different cities across Europe, namely in London (England), Munich (Germany), Rome (Italy), Baku (Azerbaijan), St. Petersburg (Russia), Bucharest (Romania), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Dublin (Ireland), Bilbao (Spain), Budapest (Hungary), Glasgow (Scotland) and Copenhagen (Denmark) between June 12 and July 12, 2020.
A decision to hold the 2020 Euro Cup, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, in various European countries instead of in one or two hosting countries was made at the UEFA Executive Committee’s meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on December 6, 2012.
Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg was granted the right to host three group stage matches and one of the quarterfinals of the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup. The newly built football arena in St. Petersburg hosted the opening and final matches of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and also served as one of the 12 stadiums across the country hosting matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The over 62,300-seat capacity stadium was laid down in the western part of Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg in 2007 and commissioned in early 2017. It serves as a home stadium for Zenit St. Petersburg football club.
The Final Draw for the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup was held on November 30, 2019 in the Romanian capital of Bucharest. Twenty-four national football teams, which have cleared the qualifications round, were divided into six groups of four teams each.
COVID-19 spread
In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus — named COVID-19 by the WHO — have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.
On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 1,520,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 89,400 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far over 337,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.
To date, a total of 10,131 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 698 patients having recovered from the virus. Moscow accounts for the majority of cases (6,698). Russia’s latest data indicates 76 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.