Birth of the Euros

The 16th European Football Championship takes place in 2021, but how does it compare to the first?

Football has existed for thousands of years, but the modern game we know today can be traced back to English playgrounds in the 1800s. As the sport grew in popularity, organisations such as The Football Association helped to create official rules, transforming the sport from an ancient pastime of kicking objects with our feet to a highly skilled and regulated game. By 1900, football had become Britain’s national sport, and developments in transport and media meant that its popularity was spreading rapidly across the world.

In 1927, the administrator of the French Football Federation, Henri Delaunay, suggested that countries across Europe bring their passion for the sport together for an intracontinental competition. This vision would eventually become reality when it was organised in 1960 – unfortunately this was five years after Delaunay had passed away. To celebrate the man who first envisaged the Euros, the trophy awarded to the winning country was named after him.

Since its inception the tournament has been run by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) every four years, with the exception of 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the tournament from going ahead, the matches were scheduled for June 2021 instead. However, in order to honour the 60-year anniversary of the European Football Championship, Euro 2020 will keep its original name. Other elements will also buck tradition: for the first time, instead of being held at one location, Euro 2020 will be hosted by 11 cities across Europe.