Tournament details | |
---|---|
Host countries |
13
Azerbaijan
Belgium Denmark England Germany Hungary Ireland Italy Netherlands Romania Russia Scotland Spain |
Dates | June–July 2020 |
Teams | 24 |
Venue(s) | 13 (in 13 host cities) |
The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, will be the 16th edition of the UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe organized by UEFA. It will be held in thirteen cities in thirteen different European countries during the summer of 2020 (with the exact date to be announced later). Portugal are the defending champions, having won the 2016 edition.
Former UEFA President Michel Platini said that the tournament being hosted in several nations is a "romantic" one-off event to celebrate the 60th "birthday" of the European Championship competition. The winner will earn the right to participate in the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup. Wembley Stadium in London will host the semi-finals and final of the tournament.
While some countries had already expressed an interest in a UEFA Euro 2020 bid on 30 June 2012, at a press conference a day before the UEFA Euro 2012 Final, UEFA President Michel Platini suggested that instead of having one host country (or joint hosting by multiple countries), Euro 2020 could be spread over "12 or 13 cities" across the continent. At the time UEFA already used a similar system for the UEFA Under-17 Championship's "Elite Round" where each of the seven groups is hosted by a different country.
On 6 December 2012 UEFA announced that the 2020 Finals would be held in multiple cities across Europe, to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the tournament. The selection of the host cities will not mean an automatic qualifying berth is awarded to the national team of that nation.