Football falls victim to COVID-19

As expected, the coronavirus pandemic has affected the world of sports as well

Eugen Coroianu, 18.03.2020, 13:50

EURO
2020, originally scheduled to kick off in 3 months, has been postponed for June
11 – July 11, 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, UEFA has announced. 24
teams are competing in the event, and matches will be played in 12 cities in 12
countries, including the capital city Bucharest, which will play host to 4
matches. To qualify Romania must compete in the playoffs, first playing Iceland
in June. If it emerges victorious, Romania will next take on the winner of the
match pitting Bulgaria against Hungary. Postponing EURO 2020 will provide domestic
championships and inter-club competitions such as Champions League and Europa
League the opportunity to reach the end of the season by June 30, by relaxing
the competition schedule.

The measure however entails huge costs for UEFA, as
its president Aleksander Ceferin has said. The UEFA official pointed out that
the well-being of fans, technical staff and players should be the top priority.
A number of friendly matches have been cancelled as well, including the one
pitting Romania against England on June 7. Meanwhile the Romanian championship
has been postponed pending an official decision to lift the state of emergency
in mid-April, the president of the Romanian Football Federation, Razvan
Burleanu, has announced. President Burleanu also pointed out that the measure
will generate scores of financial and logistical problems to all parties
involved. The Federation is looking into various options to finalize all the 53
national football competitions. At global level, Copa America, the most
important South-American inter-state competition, has also been postponed for
2021.

(Translated
by V. Palcu)