Allowing 26 players to each team in the European Cup

The European Football Association (UEFA) decided today to allow each team participating in the European Cup 2020, scheduled from June 11 to July 11 next, to include 26 official players instead of 23 as usual.

The Confederation said in a statement that it had taken this step "in order to alleviate the teams' fears regarding the shortage of players available in some matches due to the possibility of catching the Covid-19 pandemic and thus having to quarantine."

Wifa, on the other hand, indicated that only 23 would be allowed to be on the match card.

Some coaches of national teams, especially Italy (Roberto Mancini), Belgium (Spaniard Roberto Martinez) and France, world champion (Didier Deschamps), called for an increase in the number of players in each squad, in order to give teams more options due to the possibility of players being infected with the Corona virus. National coaches have until June 1 to present the official regulations, but between this date and the date of the first match, they can freely replace any player for another in the event of "injury or serious illness." To clarify the last point, the federation said in a statement, "Players who undergo a positive test for Covid-19, or who are subject to health isolation in the event of contact, fall into the category of + serious diseases +."

On the other hand, goalkeepers can be switched before each match "in the event of being physically incapable even if one or two goalkeepers are available".

This decision comes about a month after the Confederation allowed the use of five substitutions for each team during the tournament matches, similar to what is currently happening in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. The permitted number of substitutions was raised from three to five after the resumption of competitions last season, following a forced halt. Due to the pandemic, it is approved in the Champions League, the European League (Europa League), and most of the leagues in Europe, with the exception of the English Premier League, are among the five major leagues.

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