Without a commitment to have a public in the stadiums, no possibility of hosting Euro football matches. The ultimatum issued in mid-March by UEFA, the body that rules football in Europe, was very clear: its president, Aleksander Ceferin, said he did not want to “Empty stands” for the competition which will take place from June 11 to July 11 and must, theoretically, be contested in twelve countries. It is up to the various host countries to present, no later than Wednesday April 7, their sanitary devices allowing the stadiums to be partially or totally filled.
As of Wednesday, the Dutch Federation announced that Amsterdam hopes to host “At least 12,000 spectators” during the four matches scheduled at the Arena Johan-Cruyff, or more “Depending on the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
The day before, the city of Munich had assured that“It is quite conceivable and desirable that spectators can be accommodated”, while the Italian government had given the green light to the presence of spectators at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, where four matches must take place, including three for the national team (Turkey opening, then Switzerland and Wales).
Sanitary conditions required beforehand
The municipality of Munich, which has built several hypotheses, however specified that “The scenario finally adopted will depend on the pandemic situation in June and July”. Munich are set to host three matches for the German squad (against France on June 15, Portugal on June 19 and Hungary on June 23), as well as a quarter-final.
On the Italian side also, the effective presence of the public remains however still conditional on the establishment of a protocol by the technical and scientific committee which advises the government. According to the Italian Football Federation, the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, asked the experts to define solutions that could allow “A form of public participation compatible with the epidemiological context”.
In addition, according to the Spanish press, the Spanish Football Federation was to send a document during the day of Wednesday to UEFA, presenting the conditions of reception of the public up to 25% of the capacity of reception of the San Mames stadium in Bilbao, which corresponds to approximately 13,000 people. “These 13,000 spectators will be able to enter the stadium as long as perfect sanitary conditions are reached, circumstances which, today, are not met”, however specifies the daily Marca.
The sanitary conditions required would be in particular an incidence rate over fourteen days of less than 40 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, an immunity of the population of the Basque Country and Spain which exceeds 60%, an occupancy rate of intensive care beds. less than 2% in the autonomous region of the Basque Country and traceability of Covid-19 cases in the Basque Country greater than 90%.
Based on feedback from host cities, UEFA is expected to give its final opinion on the organization of the tournament in the coming days, in an unprecedented format: matches are scheduled in Amsterdam, Baku, Bilbao, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin , Glasgow, Munich, Rome and St. Petersburg, with semi-finals and final in London.
