Uefa unlikely to stage Britain-only Euro 2020

UEFA is unlikely to take up any offers from Britain to host the entire Euro 2020 tournament later this summer, it was reported Sunday.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden had reportedly “signaled” to European football’s governing body that crowds are expected back in British stadiums before the rest of Europe due to progress on coronavirus vaccinations.

Wembley is scheduled to host the Euro 2020 semi-finals and final in July, and the government is reportedly now ready to take on more games due to be played across 12 different European cities, according to the Times.

But Uefa said it had nothing to add to a statement in January when it reaffirmed its commitment to hosting the tournament across the 12 designated cities at a meeting with the host associations.

And the governing body said last week that it would not be pursuing a similar offer from Israel to help with hosting Euro 2020 matches and other European club competitions.

In response to Israel’s offer, Uefa had said it “fully intends that all its events … will be staged in their intended venues and is working hard with its partners and stakeholders to secure that.”

Read AlsoUEFA turn down offer from Israel to host Euro 2020 games

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the FA declined to comment.

But Health Secretary Matt Hancock was unaware of any offer to host the tournament, saying on Sky News: “I haven’t seen anything on that, I understand that that’s not right.”

The competition is scheduled to start in Rome on June 11, with the final at Wembley on July 11.