Influence on EURO2020’s Postponement
What will the Postponement of the 2020 Euro Championships Influence on European Domestic Leagues?
EURO 2020, which originally scheduled to be held this summer has been postponed until 2021. UEFA has finally decided, as the football authorities grapple with the unprecedented disruption of the coronavirus(COVID-19) pandemic. Therefore, we’re going to talk about the influence on European Domestic Leagues for this big change in the following article.
Meaning of EURO2020 Postponement for European Leagues
The 16th Edition of the European Championships was a sporting event that many around the world, especially football fans, were anticipating this summer. However, due to the global pandemic of Covid-19, the Euro Championships have officially been postponed to 2021, leaving football fans around the world with nothing but disappointment. While fans in Italy await Lazio’s clinching of their league title after two decades, football fans in England are left in suspense as Liverpool were well on their way to clinching the Premier League title after 30 years with a massive 25 point lead. Despite this, there is still a silver lining to this chain of events as organisers are aiming to complete club competitions by this summer.
The postponement of the Euro Championships also extends to the women’s Euros, with both events being postponed from Friday 11 June until Sunday 11 July 2021, and 2022 respectively. In a UEFA’s teleconference call with all 55 European national football associations, European Leagues, the international players’ union, and the European Club Association; Fifpro reports that the agreed provisional dates for the Europa League final and the Champions League will be on 24 June and 27 June respectively. To ensure that these tournaments can be successfully completed, some changes have been made to the timeline of these matches. For example, matches are only held during weekends instead of the midweek. These changes may be implemented once travel restrictions have been lifted by respective governments and also as soon as their health and travel policies allow.
As for the postponed matches, scheduled matches such as the second leg of the UEFA Champions League last-16 tie between Manchester City and Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium were postponed indefinitely due to the Covid outbreak, as with the matchup between Juventus and Lyon. Meanwhile across the other parts of Europe in Spain, France, and Germany, the La Liga, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga have suspended their fixtures. In the United Kingdom, all English Premier League fixtures have been postponed until the 4th of April.
UEFA believes that the postponements of all international tournaments will give European club competition organisers the space they require to complete their respective domestic leagues by the end of the current sporting season, with the consideration that the situation will improve enough that it allows for play to resume. UEFA has also stated that adaptations towards the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League will be implemented should the 2019/20 season of competitive football experience late completion.
The details of the actual plan to complete the currently suspended league fixtures may remain conceptual, but the movement of bringing football back to the fans is surely on its way. European League Representative Lars-Christer Olsson from UEFA stated that they are currently exploring ways in which football can be played despite the presence of movement restrictions throughout the continent. These avenues for exploration include the consideration of playing matches behind closed doors where it is safe and it can be broadcasted for home viewing.
Challenges Faced
While the idea of continuing suspended league fixtures is making the best out of a bad situation, according to the general secretary of FIFPro Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, that can happen only when the current government measures are relaxed, and when it is safe to play without fans. What’s more, while players prefer to play in front of a live audience; he added that it would be unrealistic to wait until that was possible due to the economic pressures that fall on this industry.
One other caveat that players and their respective football clubs will have to consider is the duration of their player’s contracts – some players may be out of a contract should the games go beyond June. This means that this would require a lot of flexibility and goodwill from both parties in terms of aiming towards the completion of the current sporting season. The governing body FIFA also stated that they would be assessing the need for amendments or any exemptions from the rules in light of these challenging circumstances.
Further compounding the need for completing the current season is the financial impact that might befall the organisers. UEFA estimates that postponing the Euros by just one year can result in a $300 million, meaning less money will be distributed to its 55 national football federations. As it stands, it may look like UEFA will have to bear the loss and reduce the payout to clubs competing in the Europa League and Champions League.
Considering the revenue projections announced in 2018, an estimated €1 billion worth of revenue will be generated from 2020-24. With €775 million being allocated for national football associations’ football development programmes, and another €371 million being allocated for tournament prize money. Moreover, UEFA stresses that there are up to 40 countries whose domestic leagues are nowhere as wealthy as those of the major European nations such as Spain, Germany, England, Italy, and France and other major football nations. Which is why these countries rely so heavily on said funding.
What the Future Holds?
Going forwards, the current outlook of the situation now falls into the hands of two different groups. One assigned to develop a new short term calendar which deals with the current interruptions plaguing the leagues. The other group deals with the assessment of the financial, economic and regulatory implications of the Covid-19 outbreak; and the implementation of measures to quell the consequences of the outbreak.
In short, the current complexity of the situation has put the organisers between a rock and a hard plac; as the spiritual and financial implications of an abrupt interruption could send shockwaves throughout the entire football community.
The recent Covid-19 outbreak has certainly put a tremendous amount of strain on fans, players and the relevant governing bodies. This is undoubtedly a challenging time for the world of football, and only time will tell exactly how the true nature of events will unfold. More importantly, this situation will undoubtedly leave a long-lasting impact on the world of football.
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