In 2012, the UEFA executive committee decided to change the format of the European football championships from the championship, which should be held in 2020. Instead of one host country, members of the executive committee of the Union of European Football Associations in the spring of 2013 decided to hold the championship in 12 cities of the Old World.
It should be noted that Euro-2024 will be held in Germany, as UEFA decided to make the changed format of the European Championship in 2020 a one-time measure.
general information
The European Football Championship is the main tournament for the teams of the continent, held every four years. One or several countries (none of the tournaments were held in more than two countries), the stadiums of which will host championship matches, are determined by the results of a jury that evaluates their applications.
The qualifying tournament begins about a year and a half before the start of the championship. It involves all the teams of the continent. In different periods of the recent history of European football, the conditions for obtaining a ticket to the Euro were different:
- From 1996 to 2012, 16 football squads took part in the final stage of the championship. The tournament automatically got the first place holders in their groups, as well as the best of the teams that took second places in the qualifying groups. Between the other squads who took second places, butt matches were held, in which the owners of the remaining vouchers were determined.
- Starting from 2016, 24 teams will take part in the European Football Championships. This ambiguous decision entailed some changes in the rules for obtaining a permit. From now on, according to the results of the selection for the Euro, all the teams that took second place in the groups also get to the championship. The teams that are in third place in their groups are subject to the same rule that applied to the vice-champions of the quartet of qualifying tournaments: the best team gets to the championship directly, and the rest play in the playoff matches.
- The selection for Euro 2020 will take place in a fundamentally different way. The composition of the participants of the main European tournament for the national teams will be determined during the UEFA Nations League - a tournament held according to the autumn-spring system.
In all the cases listed above, the national teams representing the host countries of the championship do not participate in the selection, but get there automatically.
UEFA Nations League
The format of the UEFA Nations League was approved by the executive committee of the organization in 2014. The regulations of this tournament have the following features:
- As in qualifying tournaments in the Euro, all UEFA teams participate in the competition.
- Based on the rating of the national teams, the squads are divided into leagues. There are four such divisions: the strongest of them is League A, and the weakest is League D.
- Within each league, teams are divided into groups of 3-4 teams. In league D, all groups consist of four teams. Teams of countries in bad relationships fall into different groups to avoid incidents like the one that happened at the Serbia-Albania match in 2014, when fans staged riots. For example, the national teams of Russia and Ukraine, playing in Division B, were sown in different trios.
- At the end of the League of Nations, the winners of Division B, C, and D groups will be promoted, and the worst group teams will be sent to the weaker league. Among the winners of the group A trio, a playoff tournament will be held, consisting of semifinals, a game for the bronze medals and the final match.The tournament will be held in one of its participating countries.
- Similar tournaments will be held in each of the divisions. Their winners will receive tickets to the main European football tournament among national teams.
- 20 out of 24 Euro 2020 participants will be determined during the qualifying tournament, which will begin in 2019. The schedule of these matches will be determined later during the draw.
Cities
The table below lists the cities that will host Euro matches, the stadiums where the championship games will be held, and the stages to which these matches will relate:
| Town | Stadium | Championship stage | Sports Arena Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rome | Stadio Olimpico | Group A, quarter-finals | 72698 |
| Baku | Baku Olympic Stadium | Group A, quarter-finals | 70000 |
| Copenhagen | Parken | Group B, 1/8 finals | 51711 |
| St. Petersburg | Zenit Arena. At Euro, it is declared as "St. Petersburg" | Group B, quarter-finals | 68134 |
| Amsterdam | "Johan Cruyff-Arena." The stadium is also known as Amsterdam Arena. | Group C, 1/8 finals | 53852 |
| Bucharest | National Stadium | Group C, 1/8 finals | 54851 |
| London | Wembley | Group D, both semifinals and finals | 90000 |
| Glasgow | Hampden Park | Group D, 1/8 finals | 51472 |
| Bilbao | San Mamez | Group E 1/8 Finals | 53289 |
| Dublin | Aviva | Group E 1/8 Finals | 56000 |
| Budapest | Ferenc Puskas Stadium. The construction of this sports arena is currently underway. | Group F, 1/8 finals | 65156 |
| Munich | Alliance Arena | Group F, quarter finals | 75000 |
The championship finals will be held at London's Wembley Stadium.
Championship Champions Statistics
The table below lists all the winners of the Euro for the entire history of its existence:
| Team | Years in which the national team became the champion of Europe |
|---|---|
| Germany | 1972, 1980, 1996 |
| Spain | 1964, 2008, 2012 |
| France | 1984, 2000 |
| USSR (successor of the squad - the Russian team) | 1960. It was the first ever European football championship |
| Czechoslovakia (successor to the team - Czech team) | 1976 |
| Portugal. This team is the current European football champion | 2016 |
| Italy | 1968 |
| Netherlands | 1988 |
| Denmark | 1992 |
| Greece | 2004 |
The change in the regulations of the European Football Championship was sensational news for many European football fans. According to many fans and experts, the creation of the UEFA Nations League will increase the quality of football during qualifying, friendly and butt games, and will also enable many weak teams and even the so-called “soccer dwarfs” to take part in the final stage of the 2020 European Football Championship .
Read also:
(No ratings yet)
Loading...
