By Edwin Eriye
The UEFA Euro 2020, which was postponed from last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, will finally kick-off today Friday.
Turkey will take on Italy tonight at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome with a planned presence of over 15, 000 fans.
While football fanatics, and the world at large prepare for the kick-off, below are 6 things you need to know about the EURO 2020 tournament;
Tournament key dates:
While the tournament kicks off on Friday, June 11, the knockout phase will start on June 26 with the final taking place on July 11 at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Where The Tournament Will Hold:
For the first time in the tournament’s history, it will be taking place across the continent with 11 host cities in all: London, Saint Petersburg, Baku, Munich, Rome, Amsterdam, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Glasgow and Seville.
Number Of Teams To Participate:
A total of 24 teams divided into six groups will be taking part in the tournament, which comprises 51 matches.
Group A: Turkey, Italy, Wales, Switzerland
Group B: Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Russia
Group C: Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, North Macedonia
Group D: England, Croatia, Scotland, Czech Republic
Group E: Spain, Sweden, Poland, Slovakia
Group F: Hungary, Portugal, France, Germany
Tournament format:
The top two teams from each group, plus four best third-place finishers, will progress to the round-of-16 phase which will be followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final.
Will Fans Be Present?
Yes. Each of the 11 venues has been given clearance to host fans. UEFA confirmed that Saint Petersburg and Baku will have up to 50 capacity; Budapest aims to host a full house; Amsterdam, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Rome and Seville will be hosting 25 to 45 percent; London will have a minimum capacity of 25 percent; Munich aims to host approximately 22 percent of the stadium capacity.
Which venues were dropped?
Dublin and Bilbao were dropped from the list of host cities after refusing to give guarantees over spectator numbers, but Seville stepped in for the latter while Dublin’s games went to London and Saint Petersburg.
