UEFA demand minimum attendance figures from host cities

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has reportedly warned host cities of the delayed 2020 European Championships that they must confirm fans’ presence in their stadiums by April 7. Some of the participating cities are only willing to allow 10% of the maximum stadium capacity to be fulfilled, and it might not be enough to satisfy UEFA’s expectations. 

“We have several scenarios, but the one guarantee we can make is that the option of playing any Euro 2020 match in an empty stadium is off the table,’ Ceferin said last month.

“Every host must guarantee there will be fans at their games.”

Those cities that do not manage to satisfy the expectations set for them in terms of crowd attendance could lose out on the chance to host the tournament completely. Dublin is one of the shakiest cities on the list, with the Irish government being unable to provide assurances on minimum spectator levels. 

UEFA has reportedly asked Dublin to accommodate 25% of its Aviva Stadium but could miss out on the four matches scheduled there if they do not concede to these demands. 

Should Ireland be discarded as hosts of the prestigious tournament, Russia has plans of stepping up as replacements, with the country reportedly confident in pledging attendances close to 50% of the 68,000 capacity in the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg. 

Alexei Sorokin, head of the committee, said UEFA would allow host cities to increase the planned attendance figures until April 28.

‘If there are significant improvements [in the epidemiological situation], we do not rule this out,’ he told the Russian Tass news agency.