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To hope to attend the Euro 2020, it will take supporters of the Blues a lot of patience, and a lot of money. The competition, just sixty years old next summer, will take place in 12 countries, 12 cities (London, Baku, Munich, Dublin ...) and therefore 12 different stages. A wish of Michel Platini, when he was at the head of UEFA.
The matches of each of the six groups will be played in two cities only. The regulation stipulates that "host teams will automatically be assigned to their group based on pairs of host cities." Italy, qualified hands down, will play its three qualifying matches in Rome. For other nations, including France, where no match is organized - our country has hosted the entire competition in 2016 - it looks much more complex ...
A galley of organization
"Doing all the round trips is what seems to me the most complicated to manage," worries the microphone of Europe 1 Anne, member of the office of the group of supporters The French Irrésistibles, who manages the group's movements during major competitions. "For the World Cup in Russia or Brazil, we could take a round trip and we managed with domestic flights, there it is not possible."
If the Blues, who are not yet sure of being seeded, fall for example in pool A, they will have a match in Rome and the two others in ... Baku, Azerbaijan. "Just for this destination, it is between 600 and 800 euros return flight," recalls Anne. We must also add the cost of accommodation for each trip. It is still difficult to estimate the total amount, but it should be in thousands of euros, not counting the price of tickets. "This is not the best idea that Michel Platini had," plague Anne. "It's a mess in terms of organization."
Up to 1,000 euros, just for tickets
And the expenses are not finished, it is also necessary to pay the tickets to attend the matches. If you get to have some ... Because, to get the precious sesames, it's a real obstacle course. You must first register on the site www.lesbleus2020.fr. The fans will then obtain a code, to keep preciously because it is this code that will provide access to the official ticket office of UEFA, which opens on December 4. The supporters of the Blues will then have two weeks (closing December 18, ed) to buy all their tickets, group stage and finals. And here, first come, first served, it will be reactive, if of course, the site does not fail before the influx of requests.
"Overall, it's not too expensive, ticket prices range from 30 to 50 euros for pool matches, it's affordable until the quarter-finals," says Anne. "However, the half and the final is huge: 195 euros the price supporters for the half, and 295 euros for the final."
For comparison, in the same type of category, a place for the final of Euro 2016 was 95 euros, a price multiplied by three. It's still a long way from the World Cup final, where the support ticket was at 450 euros the ticket price for the final.
In total, if a French supporter wants to attend all the matches of the Blues during Euro 2020, he will have to pay between 800 and 1.000 euros, just in tickets. If, unfortunately, France were to be eliminated in the eighths or quarters, UEFA will only reimburse the tickets purchased by the French fans for the rest of the competition in October 2020.
"We will lose supporters on the road"
You'll understand, it will take patience and save money to follow the team of France in its peregrinations. "We are going to lose supporters depending on the pool we are going to be in. If we come across Munich, Budapest or a destination that can be reached by train, there will be a lot of people, the worst is the one in Rome with Baku ... The hen will really decide everything. "
Verdict on November 30, in Bucharest, where will take place the draw of the hens of this particular Euro.