Uefa confirms Hampden will host Euros in front of fans
Hampden Park will officially host games at this summer’s Europeanchampionshipwith supporters in attendance, Uefa confirmed yesterday.
The Scottish FA have successfully presented a plan to European football’s governing body which will see the stadium at between 25 and 35 per cent capacity for four matches, including two of Scotland’s Group D games against Croatia and the Czech Republic.
This included mapping out how vaccine roll-outs, infection rates and the expected reduced spread of Covid-19 during the summer months would ensure that a percentage of supporters could safely attend the games.
Glasgow was one of eight cities confirmed for this summer’s tournament. St Petersburg, Budapest, Baku, London, Amsterdam, Bucharest and Copenhagen were the others.
In a statement on the Uefa website, Glasgow was the only one of the eight confirmed cities that didn’t come with the caveat that capacities could be increased at a later date.
It read: “St. Petersburg has confirmed a capacity of 50 per cent, with the possibility of increasing the capacity by end of April, while Budapest is aiming to host spectators at full capacity, subject to spectators fulfilling strict stadium entry requirements.
“Baku has confirmed a capacity of 50 per cent, with the travelling fans of the participating teams required to present a negative Covid-19 test result to enter Azerbaijan.
“Amsterdam, Bucharest, Copenhagen and Glasgow have confirmed a capacity of 25-33 per cent, with Amsterdam, Bucharest and Copenhagen keeping open the option potentially to raise their capacities at the end of this month, depending on the development of their mass testing programmes and general health conditions.
“London has confirmed a minimum capacity of 25 per cent for the three group matches and round of 16 match and are hoping to confirm a higher capacity for the semi-finals and final in early June."
The remaining four cities of Milan, Dublin, Bilbao and Rome have until 19 April to provide additional information on their plans before a final decision will be made by Uefa. Dublin is due to host three group games and one last-16 tie but on Wednesday the Football Association of Ireland said it could not provide Uefa with assurances on fan numbers as it continues to deal with the pandemic.
Dublin and Bilbao - due to host all the matches in Group E between them as well as one knockout round match apiece - appear to be the venues most in danger of losing out if guarantees cannot be provided.
The English FA has previously said it stands ready to stage additional games if another host is deemed unsuitable.
The Uefa statement also revealed that additional reserved tickets for countries who qualified through the play-offs, including Scotland, will be available in early May.