Scotland set for UEFA windfall over Euros halt
UEFA could hand Scottish football a £500,000 boost in compensation for postponing the four Euro 2020 games which were due to be held at Hampden this summer.
The European Championships have been put back by a year due to the coronavirus crisis, and UEFA are set to meet on Thursday to outline their plans for the 2021 tournament.
Scotland’s National Stadium – which will officially switch ownership from Queen’s Park to the SFA on August 1 this year after a £5 million buy-out – was due to host four matches.
Three group games were scheduled, as well as a last-16 encounter, which could have included Steve Clarke’s men if they had won through the play-offs.
The semi-final against Israel at Hampden on March 26 was postponed, together with a potential Final against Norway or Serbia.
One of the 12 cities that were due to host the games has revealed that they are expecting to receive substantial compensation from European football’s governing body for having to cancel their matches in June.
St Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena would also have hosted four games like Hampden, and are expecting a UEFA windfall soon.
The stadium’s general manager, Vladimir Litvinov, said: “We incurred losses for the cancellation, and we hope to hear this week that UEFA will fully compensate us.
“The facility financing scheme will change because competitions are not held, and the financial flow to the stadium will be transformed.
“The amount we have lost is substantial.
“Previously, a certain share of our funding was provided through holding football matches.
“Hopefully, UEFA will agree to compensate us.”
Hampden could actually benefit from more games next year because two venues – Rome and Bilbao – have yet to decide whether to continue being a co-host, given how hard Italy and Spain have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
And another host city, Copenhagen, has announced it may scrap holding games because the 2021 dates clash with the Danish city hosting the opening time-trial for the Tour de France for the first time.
UEFA have stated that they may distribute more games to the host cities that have confirmed they are able to stage matches next summer, which includes Glasgow.