Dublin has been officially dropped as a venue for this summer’s reorganized European Championships, while Munich has been confirmed as the host city.
UEFA demanded guarantees from its 12 original host cities so that their respective arenas could accommodate at least 25% capacity when Euro 2020 starts in June.
However, current coronavirus restrictions in the Republic of Ireland mean that it has not been possible for the authorities there to make this commitment.
UEFA has had to make a lot of reorganizations Paolo Bruno / Getty Images
The Executive Committee of the European Football Governing Body was convened on Friday morning to discuss the fate of Bilbao, Munich and Dublin as the only host cities that had not confirmed fan participation.
The Basque city of Bilbao has also been lost, with Sevilla hosting Spain’s Group E matches and a last 16 match instead.
Organizers in the Bavarian capital Munich were able to confirm that the Allianz Arena (or Football Arena Munich in the UEFA competition) would finally be at least a quarter full and therefore retain its status as a host city.
Now all official:
Wembley is hosting an eighth Euro match – the last 16 match to be in Dublin and will include England if they win the group.
Dublin’s 3 Group E matches moved to St Petersburg, which already hosts Group B matches & QF.
Bilbao’s four matches moved to Sevilla
– Rob Harris (@RobHarris) April 23, 2021
Ireland did not qualify for the tournament, but the matches to be played at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium were also in Group E: Poland vs Slovakia, Sweden vs. Slovakia and Sweden vs. Poland.
The group competitions in question are planned to be moved to St Petersburg, while England’s Wembley Stadium will host the quarter-finals that would be hosted in Dublin – apparently as a reward for the Football Association’s role in stopping the Super League outbreak.
Regarding the change of venues, UEFA said (via the UEFA website):
“UEFA would like to express its appreciation and gratitude to the cities of Bilbao and Dublin – both of which are considered good meeting places for future UEFA events – the national and regional governments of Spain and the Republic of Ireland, and all local stakeholders for their commitment, professionalism and efforts during the recent years.
“UEFA would also like to thank the Football Association of Ireland and its dedicated staff for their excellent cooperation and hard work, and look forward to continuing to work with the remaining eleven host federations to deliver UEFA EURO 2020 matches.”
