Dublin’s finals hopes fading as Poles make alternative Euro plans
In a sign that Dublin has lost any chance of retaining the rights to host its four matches in the Euro 2020 finals, the Polish FA are looking to secure an alternative base for the tournament, as the Poles had planned to base themselves in Dublin for the duration of the finals.
UEFA’s Executive Committee, the organisation’s key decision-making body, will meet today to make a final call on the three host cities for Euro 2020 which have doubts over their ability to host the matches.
Nine cities have given UEFA the assurances needed by the governing body that they can meet a key requirement, to have some fans admitted to games at the finals, as UEFA have made it clear they will not play Euro 2020 games in stadiums which are completely empty.
Dublin, Bilbao and Munich are the three cities where the national football associations are unable to give UEFA a guarantee of even limited supporter access, based on government restrictions due to Covid-19.
Across the weekend, the FAI remained in talks with Government officials and UEFA, hoping to keep open the door for Dublin to host the matches ahead of decision day today.
The four stakeholders in the Local Organising Structure (FAI, Irish Government, Dublin City Council and Aviva Stadium management) were hopeful that the work done in preparing the Aviva for the finals would not be in vain and FAI CEO Jonathan Hill and president Gerry McAnaney attempted to drum up support to keep Dublin’s hopes alive.
But reports in Warsaw yesterday suggest that the Polish FA have already been informed that Dublin has lost out. Poland are due to play two of their three group games, against Sweden and Slovakia, in Dublin, with the third group game in Bilbao, but they had also planned to use Dublin for their training camp for the finals, using a hotel in Portmarnock, an alternative now being sought.
Former international Zbigniew Boniek, head of the Polish FA, is a member of UEFA’s Executive Committee and a powerful figure in the European game.
In a social media post, he suggested that London and Seville could replace Dublin and Bilbao as host cities for Poland’s Euro finals games.
Online Editors
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