Uefa ponder moving the Euros to just one country

UEFA are considering a radical change to this summer’s Euros by staging the tournament in one country rather than across the continent.

German legend and Bayern Munich powerbroker KarlHeinz Rummenigge says UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin is weighing up the option.

And Swiss FA President Dominique Blanc has gone even further by suggesting the Euros could even be staged in one city - putting forward London as an option.

Wembley already has the semi-finals and final, but presumably Blanc sees Premier League grounds like Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and West Ham as further options, while Twickenham, home of English rugby, could also come into the mix.

As things stand, Wales are due to play their group games in Baku and Rome - two of the 12 European cities down to host the competition. But Bayern chief executive Rummenigge says the concept to take matches around the continent, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Euros, was dreamed up before the Covid-19 outbreak.

UEFA are concerned about rising cases of coronavirus and are also wary of travel restrictions likely to be in place.

“We must not forget that the idea of this special hosting of the tournament came about when the coronavirus didn’t exist ... it was an initiative of the EU Commission that wanted to have football shown over Europe,” Rummenigge told German newspaper Muenchner Merkur/ TZ.

“But I know that the UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who is incredibly careful with coronavirus, is thinking about whether it wouldn’t make more sense in these times to play the tournament in just one country.

“That would be with a corresponding hygiene concept, of course.”

Reports surfaced a few months back about the prospect of staging the Euros in Russia, although UEFA’s official stance is that the status quo of 12 host cities remains As well as Baku and Rome, the other cities are due to be London, Glasgow, Dublin, Bilbao, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Munich, St Petersburg, Bucharest and Budapest.

Swiss boss Blanc said the tournament could be held in Russia or Germany - or even entirely in London.

UEFA are expected to meet in March to decide definitively in which direction to go, with Wales keeping a watching brief.