Parken Stadium in Copenhagen will host three games in Group B and a last 16 clash. Home of the Denmark national team and FC Copenhagen, Parken is one of four 20th century stadiums to host games at Euro With a seating capacity of just over 38,, it is the smallest host venue at the tournament.
However, it does boast a Michelin star restaurant! Hampden Park in Glasgow will host three matches in Group D and one last 16 game. The oldest stadium to be used at Euro , Hampden Park is the home of football in Scotland, playing host to the national team as well as being the venue for various national cup finals.
It was also used for football games at the Olympics. Wembley will host a total of eight matches at Euro including a last game, the semi-finals and the final. It will also be the scene of three games in Group D, where it shares hosting duties with Scotland's Hampden Park. The London venue was initially only supposed to host the semi-finals and final, but was assigned an extra four games following the exclusion of Brussels as a host city and another one when Dublin was removed as a host.
Rebuilt in , it is one of the biggest football stadiums in the world and second only to Barcelona's Camp Nou in terms of Europe's biggest arenas. It will also host a quarter-final game. As well as occasionally staging Germany games, the 75,seater was one of the country's venues for the World Cup in hosting six matches and in it was the venue for the Champions League final.
Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy will be the venue for one quarter-final game at Euro as well as three matches in Group A sharing duties with Baku's Olympic Stadium. The Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia will host one quarter-final match at Euro and it will also be the venue for three games in Group B, as well as three games in Group E. One of the newest stadiums of the 12 being used by UEFA, the Krestovsky Stadium was built in anticipation of the World Cup, where it hosted seven matches, including the third-place play-off.
Seville's Estadio de La Cartuja was chosen as a replacement host city in April when it was decided that Bilbao would not be hosting any games at the tournament. Situated in southern Spain, it is occasionally home to the Spain national team and it will host three games in Group E as well as a last 16 match.
It ensures no host nation comes under undue financial trouble. Also, the tourism incentive can be shared this way with smaller countries, helping their economy. Euro or a World Cup is often a part of holiday plans for fans. Multiple country format works against them as they will have to travel extensively, however, grouping a country's matches to limited closeby venues could help the fans. Also, neutral fans who often don't get the chance of being part of such tournaments, can now travel to neighbouring countries and get the experience.
One of the biggest disadvantages of a spread-out tournament is the impact it would have on players. They come into the tournaments after playing a full season of football and extensive travel can never be a good idea. However, if fixtures are designed carefully, restricting movement as much as possible and limiting the distance, the impact of travelling can be curbed.
Hosting a mega tournament like Euro is always a Herculean task but back then in when the multi-country format was announced, UEFA had no idea the COVID pandemic would double the challenges.
Travelling during a pandemic means higher chances of getting infected for all, ranging from players, fans, administrators, organisers to broadcasters. Another challenge for the organisers will be to create bio-secure bubbles in all 11 cities, have enough and appropriate arrangements for emergencies.
The COVID protocols also vary from country to country and that means logistics has become a nightmare. It is also going to seriously impact stadium attendance. All the venues will be operating at reduced capacities.
For example, 90,seater Wembley Stadium in London will only open its 25 percent capacity to the fans. Allianz Arena will have 22 per cent of its 70, seat capacity available to the fans. Teams will continue to do press conferences through online mediums, no players will be available in mixed zones for media. If a team has positive cases, the infected player or staff will have to self-isolate. However, the team can still play matches considering it has at least 13 players available including a goalkeeper.
The 13 players, however, need to test negative and must have complied with UEFA protocols. The team due to which the fixture fails to complete will be either made to forfeit the game loss or the match outcome will be decided by drawing of lots that is win , lose or draw For fans, accessing the stadium means having a valid ticket, a negative COVID report or proof of vaccination.
Countries like Azerbaijan and Russia have also given quarantine exemptions to ticket holders but fans from the UK may not be able to enjoy this benefit. The European Championship has had two joint hosts on three occasions. The football World Cup has had two joint hosts once in when Japan and South Korea hosted the event. But, the Euro till was a team event, now it is a team affair. The World Cup will expand to 48 teams from 32 in the edition.
With more teams, there will be more matches, and subsequently, more stadiums will be required. Not just stadiums but high-capacity arenas. Such an expansion will force organisers to continuously look for joint hosts. Or it could be a case of usual suspects hosting the tournament more often than not.
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