History and politics will colour the Euros like never before

It might look like a football tournament but the Euros is far more than that, writes David Harding

The group games will see several countries play each other that have previously met on battlefields (EPA)

At a time of fevered debate about sport and politics, along comes the Euros, which starts on Friday. The tournament is usually lots of fun – a heady mix of success, drama and predictable disappointment (delete as appropriate, depending on your nationality).

But there are also other things that give the Euros an edge – history and politics. In fact, the event not only incorporates the two, it is engulfed by them. Regardless of any current debate about something that should not even be challenged – protests against racism – off-field events will be everywhere at the tournament.

Europe’s nation states have spent large parts of their history in conflict with each other, some more than others. History – and the gloomiest reading of the continent’s current international relations – tell us that some will go to war with each other again.