Bilbao to be compensated after losing Euro 2020 games

MADRID: Bilbao will be compensated by UEFA for having lost its right to host games at this year's European Championship, the Spanish city’s municipal government said Friday.

Bilbao’s city hall said UEFA had agreed to compensate it with 1.3 million euros ($1.6 million) and the commitment that the city’s San Mames Stadium will host a Europa League final and a Women’s Champions League final “in the coming years.”

City hall said the money would cover the investments it had made in preparing for Euro 2020.

Bilbao was supposed to host Group E matches for Spain’s national team, but the high contagion rate of the coronavirus in the northern part of the country made it impossible for fans to be allowed into the matches.

In April, UEFA decided to move the three games from Bilbao to Seville in southern Spain, where local authorities agreed to allow some fans to attend the matches.