In a decision just announced by European governing body UEFA, football’s Euro 2020 championships due to be co-hosted in Budapest this summer will now take place in 2021. The Hungarian capital and 11 other cities are staging the month-long tournament, the third biggest sporting occasion after the Olympics and the World Cup. The city’s new Puskás Aréna, unveiled in November 2019, will have to wait another year to witness world champions France and, perhaps, an ageing Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the light of the extraordinary measures being taken to combat the outbreak of the coronavirus, with widespread cancellations of sports events across Europe, UEFA has decided to postpone the Euro 2020 tournament until June-July 2021.
Budapest’s Puskás Aréna is staging four matches, three group games and one knock-out tie. Other host cities include Rome, Bilbao and Bucharest. The tournament will now start on June 11, 2021 and finish 31 days later.
All tickets remain valid, while a full refund process will also be outlined in due course by UEFA.
It is not yet clear what will happen to this season’s Champions League and Europa League finals – nor to the EL final 2022, also due to take place here in Budapest.
