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Munich gets four Euro 2020 matches

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Munich gets four Euro 2020 matches
Photo: DPA

UPDATE: Munich will play host to four Euro 2020 games, European football’s governing body Uefa announced in Geneva on Friday, but London was the real winner.

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For the first time, the European tournament in 2020 will not have a host country or countries but be spread in cities around the continent.

The Germany Football Association (DFB) chose Munich as its candidate city over Berlin earlier this year.

And the Bavarian capital was rewarded with three group games and one quarter-final match which will be played in the Allianz Arena.

DFB vice president Rainer Koch said: “Munich and the Allianz Arena are the perfect stage for great footballing events as the 2006 World Cup and 2012 Champions League final showed."

London was the big winner, however. Wembley will host both the semi-finals and the final.

The UK capital came out on top after Germany decided to withdraw its bid to host the final and semi-finals.

Ahead of the vote, top German football officials had hinted they might withdraw if in return London supported their bid to host the tournament in 2024, when the Euro will return to the single-host format.

English Football Association (FA) chairman Greg Dyke insisted however on Friday that there was no agreed trade-off.

"There is no deal. We had discussions with the German FA but there is no agreement," he said.

"It was quite clear whoever won the final for 2020 wouldn't be in the bidding for 2024... (but) we'll decide who to support at the time."

Regardless of Germany's decision however, the choice of Wembley was never in doubt, Uefa boss Michel Platini insisted.

"In the bid evaluation, it was England that was first ahead of everyone... England had the best bid so maybe Germany understood England deserved it and so they withdrew to justify this choice of Wembley and London.

"Even if Germany withdrew, the executive committee voted unanimously to give the final and semi-finals to London," he added.

Nineteen countries in Europe applied to host matches and games will be played in 13 of them.

The other quarter final games will be played in Rome, St Petersburg and Baku – the capital of Azerbaijan.

Copenhagen will also host four matches.

SEE ALSO: Munich trumps Berlins as Euro 2020 candidate

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