England ready to host more Euro 2020 games, says UK Prime Minister

British Prime minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that England is ready to host postponed 2020 European football championships matches this year. Tournament’s both semi-finals and the final are scheduled to be held at Wembley, and it is up to England to confirm whether they would allow the spectators by April 5. In an interview published by UK’s broadcaster The Sun, UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters that he was convening the talks with European football's governing body UEFA to conduct more games in England as he announced the United Kingdom and Ireland’s joint bid for hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Despite Johnson’s comments, The Football Association (FA) told Sky sports that there were “no plans” to host additional games for the Euro tournament which is due to be hosted across 12 different countries, including Amsterdam, Baku, Dublin, and Rome.

UK’s prime minister cited the UK’s “ambitious” plans for the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination as a reason behind his confidence to host games in 2021, a year after the coronavirus wreaked havoc and prompted the leader to scrap scheduled games within the country. He told the newspaper, that the talks with the UEFA were ongoing to reach a conclusion and draft a plan how to effectively organize the tournament amid the coronavirus pandemic, additionally discussing whether it will be held behind closed doors. 

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UEFA denies hosting 'extra games'

The FA, however, said Monday that it had "no other plans" in the making but the 7 Euro games that are due to be held in Wembley, will go as per the schedule. In a statement, the UEFA Champions League stated, "The FA's focus remains on delivering the seven games at Wembley inclusive of both semi-finals and the showpiece final and welcome all efforts being made by the government to ensure as many fans can attend.” Meanwhile, Johnson's spokesman last week sounded skeptical that England will host the entire Euro tournament, saying that the UK could, at the moment, only host semi-finals and final at Wembley. "Any other matches they want hosted, we are certainly on for that!" he said. "We are hosting the Euros. We are hosting the semis and the final. that's where we are with UEFA,” Johnson’s spokesperson Max Blain said in a release, contrary to the PM’s tabloid’s interview. 

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