Paris (AFP)

Twenty-four contenders, a spherical ball and a virus to prevent it from turning round: the Euro football, which opens on Friday in an unprecedented pan-European format, promises a great fight to dethrone the Portugal of Cristiano Ronaldo ... on condition of dribbling the pandemic.

Five years after the Portuguese triumph at Euro-2016 in France, the best nations of the continent dream of inviting themselves in their turn to the pantheon, starting with France and its world champions, Belgium and its golden generation, the England and its insolent youth, even Portugal itself.

"We are candidates for the title," warned Portugal coach Fernando Santos.

"I am leaving with the same conviction that Portugal can win this championship."

He and his 23 counterparts all dream of reaching the final, scheduled for July 11 at the legendary Wembley Stadium in London, in the country which codified the most popular sport on the Old Continent a century and a half ago.

But before the ball starts rolling during the Turkey-Italy opening match on Friday (9 p.m. local, 7 p.m. GMT) in Rome, this 16th edition of the European Championship will have known the worst difficulties.

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Dreamed up by Michel Platini when he presided over UEFA in order to unite the continent around the 60th anniversary of the event, this tournament spread across eleven cities in eleven countries immediately appeared as a logistical challenge to bring teams, media and spectators from London to Baku.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also turned it into a health nightmare, first leading to the postponement of the competition for one year, before maintaining an endless vagueness on its progress.

- A "safe and festive" Euro, promises UEFA -

It was not until April 23 to know the eleven final host cities: Bilbao and Dublin were ousted, Seville invited to the party, and London and St. Petersburg have recovered more matches.

Complicating the preparations further, UEFA demanded that local authorities commit to welcoming spectators for each match.

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Despite the uncertainty created by the spread of more contagious variants of Covid-19, countries have played the game, for this competition that the organizer wants "safe and festive".

But the atmosphere will not be the same whether we are in Budapest (100%, ie 68,000 spectators) or Munich (around 22%, 14,000 spectators).

The security of the tournament will be based mainly on "bubbles" for the teams as well as on a series of measures for the spectators - staggered arrivals at the stadium, disinfection and distancing.

There are still some doubts to be cleared up, such as the concrete possibility for supporters to follow their team from one country to another.

The UK is currently not planning any exemptions for ticket holders, as London will host the semi-finals and final of the competition.

The situation remains fragile, as recalled by the announcement on Sunday evening of the positive Covid-19 test by Spanish captain Sergio Busquets.

- France, Belgium or England favorites -

For European football, financially strangled by the end of competitions in spring 2020 then the resumption in empty stadiums, the Euro is also a financial stake: UEFA plans to distribute 331 million euros to the 24 participants, a amount lower than the 371 M EUR initially planned, while ticketing revenues will be cut by the limited gauges.

A selection beaten at each meeting will thus receive 9.25 M EUR, while the champion will pocket up to 28.25 M EUR.

The revenues of the Euro, in particular its copious TV rights, will also feed the 775 million euros paid to the 55 European federations over the 2020-2024 cycle in the name of "solidarity", and the clubs will share 200 million euros for making their players available.

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On the sporting side, Portugal sees the end of a five-year reign, started by the surprise victory of a more deserving than sparkling selection against the French hosts in 2016.

Led by a 36-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese selection nevertheless appears in the background in the forecasts, behind the young English guard or Belgium.

Another favorite, the world champion France, reinforced by the return of Karim Benzema after being sidelined for more than five years in the selection.

But to achieve a new World-Euro pass, as in 1998-2000, the Blues will have to extricate themselves from a very tough group with Portugal and Germany as the toughest rivals.

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"The wait is obviously important because of the success we have had. It is the objective of this group, of this generation," said French coach Didier Deschamps in a recent interview with AFP.

Impossible to hope to dose a rise in power, while many players end the season wrung out by the health context, changes in the schedule and a truncated summer preparation.

But the ball is about to roll, and all of Europe is hoping to capsize.

© 2021 AFP