UEFA announces Euro 2020 to be held in 13 cities

UEFA has announced that Euro 2020 will be held in 13 different cities across Europe. Michel Platini held a press conference on Friday which confirmed previous hints he has given that the competition would be held across the continent as opposed to a one country or two neighbouring nations, as every previous edition has. The continental football tournament will be held in more than one country for the first time, with a final decision on the host nations to be made in September 2014.

There is a maximum of one venue per nation and there are technical specifications for stadia size which limit entries for each stage of the finals. The 13 countries containing the host cities will not gain automatic qualification into the group stage, but the host nations that do qualify will be spread across the groups in the finals. Each national association will be permitted to submit two bids - one for the standard group stage 'package', and one to hold a semi-final/final match. UEFA will decide which cities are to be hosts at Euro 2020 in September 2014, with September 2013 being the expected month for formal confirmation of bids. This new format is not expected to be a long-term direction, however, and the current format that is in place for Euro 2016 in France is expected to be continued for Euro 2024.