HERE’S WHAT YOU COULD HAVE WON...
Tonight, Hampden should be packed for Euro 2020 but Covid-19 put it all on hold
THE intervention of Sir Alex Ferguson helped to save Hampden from the bulldozers. But even Scottish football’s knight of the realm couldn’t protect the national stadium from the effects of Covid-19.
Glasgow will eventually play host to four games when Euro 2020 finally takes place next summer. But for coronavirus, however, the city could have been preparing — play-off permitting — for Scotland vs Czech Republic this evening.
As the lockdown rumbles to a tortuous end, the thought of a return to a major finals on Scottish soil is almost too much to bear.
A veteran of Hampden events management, Andrew Niven began life at the governing body as an admin assistant 26 years ago, rising to become a project co-ordinator when Zinedine Zidane scored that Champions League Final goal in 2002.
He then project-managed the 2007 UEFA Cup Final at the national stadium and spent 14 seasons heading up the Events and Competitions Department at Hampden before taking up a role as Glasgow’s Euro 2020 Bid Director in 2013.
But for the current pandemic, tonight would have marked the culmination of seven years of pain-staking planning.
‘Across both Hampden Park and Glasgow city centre, we would have been in the final throes of our event build plans for the stadium campus and the Host City fan zones,’ he tells Sportsmail.
‘We would be active with the visiting team delegations of both Czech Republic and Croatia, and we would have been facilitating regular media briefings and team media conferences in Glasgow, Edinburgh and St Andrews — given the breadth of facilities being used for the tournament.’
Perhaps the only people more anguished by the delay to Euro 2020 than the SFA, Scotland boss Steve Clarke or the fans are pub landlords in Glasgow. Currently locked in an existential crisis caused by social distancing, Scotland’s largest city planned to spend the weekend protecting the statues in George Square from overseas football fans rather than campaigners.
‘A public fan zone and football festival area is planned for George
Square, with further public viewing facilities earmarked for the Merchant City on certain match days,’ adds Niven. ‘Both remain in place for 2021 — subject to the careful ongoing review of the Covid-19 crisis, which everyone would naturally expect.’
The bidding process for Euro 2020 marked a huge change for UEFA with the decision to host the finals at multiple venues, none of which has been immune from a worldwide crisis.
SFA planning began with a feasibility study in the spring of 2013, assessing whether Hampden could deliver the infrastructure and service delivery needs of a major tournament. From his own experiences of 2002 and 2007
European finals, Niven knew better than most that it could.
A bid process began a year later focusing on Hampden’s status as the home of Scottish football and went right to the wire.
‘As you may recall, at the award ceremony, Glasgow’s name was actually the last out of the hat, ahead of Cardiff — which just added to a real sense of tension, elation and ultimately relief at having been given the chance to host Euro 2020,’ says Niven.
‘Of course, it always helps to have some heavyweight backing and I can’t underestimate how important it was to have Sir Alex back the bid and agree to become our Euro 2020 Ambassador.
‘At the time, he spoke of his
“enduring affinity” for Hampden — having played there as young Queen’s Park player; been a fan inside the stadium for the legendary Real Madrid win against Eintracht Frankfurt and, of course, winning cups there with Aberdeen.
‘The rich footballing tapestry that Hampden has woven helped immeasurably but so too the comfort of having hosted major recent events such as the Commonwealth Games in 2014.’
A Scottish Government report showed that the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow brought £740million to Scotland’s gross value (£390m directly to Glasgow) and supported an estimated average of 2,100 jobs.
For hotels, pubs and clubs struggling with the vagaries of social distancing and an income drought, the thought of what should have been over the next fortnight is almost unbearable.
‘The economic benefits of Euro 2020 are undoubtedly significant given an audience of 200,000 spectators for the four matches at Hampden, a Glasgow city centre fan-zone footprint that would last for the entire 31-day duration of the tournament and a number of participating team base camps throughout Scotland,’ adds Niven.
‘To give you an idea of the overall scale of financial benefit, the 2007 UEFA Cup Final was estimated to have delivered
£11.5m to the Scottish economy — with Cardiff Council having previously assessed the potential benefit of hosting Euro 2020 at anywhere between £40m-110m.
‘Just like the World Cup and European Championship, we have watched during lockdown with more than a whiff of nostalgia, having the Euros in Glasgow next summer will be a wonderful platform to capture a new audience for football in Scotland — especially if we can qualify.’
Scotland’s participation at Euro 2020 is neither guaranteed nor essential to the success of next summer. Major international tournaments have coped fine without the Tartan Army since 1998, yet if Clarke’s team can somehow negotiate postponed play-offs against Israel at home, then Norway or Serbia away — most likely in November — the story would resonate around Europe.
‘The presence of the Scotland team would be huge for the SFA and UEFA, given the heightened public interest that would undoubtedly accompany our qualification for a major final tournament for the first time since 1998 — and the small matter of an England v Scotland match at Wembley Stadium,’ says Niven.
‘Importantly, however, with recent World Cup Finalists Croatia and the Czech Republic already qualified to play at Hampden Park, I am in no doubt that Euro 2020 (Glasgow) will be a terrific success.’
While the SFA are committed to evaluating how to make Hampden a better stadium in the longterm, short-term considerations meant creating new corporate hospitality facilities, giant video screens and a new electronic access-control system in time for the mothballed finals.
New LED floodlights have also been installed and will be unveiled later in the year.
Beyond the bricks and mortar, however, the biggest impact of Euro 2020 would have been on people. The largest public-health crisis in a generation made delaying the event both necessary and right, with final plans for next summer’s finals — still to be known as Euro 2020 — due to be ratified by UEFA at their ExCo on Wednesday.
Predicting any day in the sun for Glasgow is always a risky business, yet Niven remains confident that Scotland’s contribution to Euro 2020 will be worth the extended wait.
‘I really believe that the city will enjoy a tremendous festival atmosphere during June and July next year,’ he adds.
‘As the third largest major sporting event in the world, we have a truly unique opportunity to showcase the very best of Glasgow and Scotland to our local communities, visitors and an international audience alike.’