Will the coronavirus also get the better of Euro-2020 football? On Tuesday 17 March, UEFA could decide on a historic postponement after a crisis meeting devoted to the future of continental competition, scheduled this summer in 12 countries (12 June-12 July).
While all major European championships are suspended, the fate of the Champions League and the Europa League, suspended at the stage of the round of 16, must also be discussed throughout the day.
And the hypothesis of a postponement of the Euro, rather than a cancellation, a first in 60 years of existence and fifteen editions disputed to date, becomes clearer.
On 12 March, the European confederation "invited the representatives of the 55 member associations (...) to meetings by videoconference to discuss the response of European football to the epidemic". The discussions "will cover all national and European competitions as well as Euro-2020".
A first meeting will start on Tuesday at 9 a.m. GMT between UEFA and the representatives of the clubs, leagues and players. A second will follow at 12 p.m. GMT with the 55 member federations before a meeting of the Executive Committee of the body at 1 p.m. GMT.
The situation is made all the more complicated by the fact that the competition is organized in twelve countries, with an opening match scheduled in Rome, Italy, one of the countries most severely affected by the pandemic.
UEFA "has no choice"
With containment measures and closings of European borders increasing, "UEFA has no choice: it is necessary to postpone both the Euro and the Champions League", judges a framework for world football.
Italian coach Roberto Mancini sees no objection, as does the president of the Italian Federation (FIGC), Gabriele Gravina, who will "propose to postpone the organization of the Euro".
Noël Le Graët, head of the French Federation (FFF), however explained on Sunday that unanimity did not reign.
"There are people who want to play, others who do not want it. Half (of the federations) want to play, the other half does not", he explained on the channel TF1. "There will be a debate and Tuesday at the end of the day, the position of UEFA will be known for the Champions League, the Europa League, as well as the European competition [Euro, Editor's note]," he added.
Regarding the Euro, the option of in camera seems difficult to conceive. And it seems logical that UEFA favors a postponement to a cancellation of the competition, an important source of television rights.
Thus, Euro-2016, for the French market alone, had generated a total of 110 million euros in TV rights, according to figures reported by the press. And for this edition organized four years ago in France, UEFA reported a total turnover of 1.92 billion euros, including all revenue items (TV rights, ticketing .. .).
But if the option of postponement is preferred, the already overloaded international calendar offers very little latitude.
The proposal for a Euro rescheduled next winter "risks encountering opposition from the Leagues who have already agreed to suspend their championship for the 2022 World Cup contested in November-December in Qatar", explains another good connoisseur of the world football.
As for a Euro carried over to the summer of 2021, it would be telescoped with the Club World Cup programmed in China by Fifa, which expects significant revenues.
With AFP
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