Ceferin announced the affect of Convid-19 on Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). It forced UEFA to cancel its UEFA EURO 2020. The flagship national team competition was scheduled during 12 June and 12 July this year.
UEFA EURO 2020 is now postponed till next year with tentative dates 11 June to 11 July 2021
The decision was made to secure all the stakeholders of UEFA from Convid-19. The association has been wary of the virus spread among all employees and reduced pressure on the related organization which helps stage the championship.
UEFA has showed concerns over the health of all stakeholders of sport and declared it among the top priorities. The decision of postponement will help the domestic matches to be held this year which have been put on hold due to current epidemic situation.
UEFA has with-held all competitions and matches under its domain including friendlies. The orders are applicable for clubs and national team of men and women.
Aleksander Ceferin, UEFA president announced the decision: “We are at the helm of a sport that vast numbers of people live and breathe that has been laid low by this invisible and fast-moving opponent. It is at times like these that the football community needs to show responsibility, unity, solidarity and altruism.
“The health of fans, staff and players has to be our number one priority and, in that spirit, UEFA tabled a range of options so that competitions can finish this season safely and I am proud of the response of my colleagues across European football.
“There was a real spirit of cooperation, with everyone recognising that they had to sacrifice something in order to achieve the best result.”
Currently, a working group is formulated to sort all the related issues. The group will sort the schedules and examine different calendars solution to minimize the Convid-19 affect.
Ceferin said: “It was important that, as the governing body of European football, UEFA led the process and made the biggest sacrifice. Moving EURO 2020 comes at a huge cost for UEFA but we will do our best to ensure that the vital funding for grassroots, women’s football and the development of the game in our 55 countries is not affected. Purpose over profit has been our guiding principle in taking this decision for the good of European football as a whole.”
UEFA reassured its customers for refund of tickets if not utilized next year. It also included its hospitality clients for refunds.
