UEFA grateful to Russian authorities for ability to host additional UEFA Euro Cup matches

MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is grateful to the authorities of Russia for the provided opportunity to host additional matches of the upcoming Euro Cup tournament this summer, Alexei Sorokin, the head of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Russia-2020, said on Thursday. The Russian city of Saint Petersburg was granted the right on April 23 to host three additional matches of the UEFA Euro Cup matches this summer after Ireland’s Dublin pulled out from the organization of the European football championship’s games. "UEFA is very grateful to the authorities of our country, as well as our football authorities, for our constructive stance and for being a reliable partner in such difficult times," Sorokin said speaking at SportForumLive event in Moscow. "We are confident that we are completely prepared as we have a marvelous stadium and we are certain that its turf will endure all matches," Sorokin said. "We have no doubts whatsoever in the perfect organization of the tournament." Saint Petersburg was initially granted the right to host three group stage matches and one of the quarterfinals of the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup and with the Dublin’s pullout and UEFA’s decision on April 23, the stadium in Russia’s second largest city is now set to host seven matches of the much-awaited European football championship. Spain’s Bilbao, which was among the European hosts for the upcoming European football championship, also announced its decision last week against hosting the matches as part of the municipal efforts to fight the COVID-19 spread. The newly built football arena in St. Petersburg hosted the opening and final matches of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and also served as one of 12 stadiums across the country hosting matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The over 62,300-seat capacity stadium was laid down in the western part of Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg in 2007 and commissioned in early 2017. It serves as a home stadium for Zenit St. Petersburg football club. On March 17, 2020, UEFA announced a decision to postpone the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup for exactly one year as a preventive measure against the ongoing global spread of the novel coronavirus. The championship was rescheduled to be held between June 11 and July 11, 2021 and Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg is among 12 cities in Europe to host the European championship’s matches. A decision to hold the 2020 Euro Cup, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2020, in various European countries instead of in one or two hosting countries was made at the UEFA Executive Committee’s meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on December 6, 2012. Following the pullout of Bilbao and Dublin from the list of the hosting cities of the championship, the rescheduled 2020 UEFA Euro Cup is now set to be staged in 11 cities, namely in London (England), Munich (Germany), Rome (Italy), Baku (Azerbaijan), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Bucharest (Romania), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Budapest (Hungary), Glasgow (Scotland), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Seville (Spain). Read more