Uefa ‘confident’ Euro 2020 semi-finals and final will remain in London but admits ‘contingency plan’

Coronavirus-related travel issues could yet affect the staging of key Euros games in London

Uefa has admitted it has a “contingency plan” in place for the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020, in case Wembley Stadium cannot host the matches as intended.

The London venue is allowing 25 per cent of its 90,000 capacity at England’s group games, with Gareth Southgate’s side having beaten Croatia 1-0 in their opener last week and set to face Scotland on Friday night. Next week, the Three Lions will round out their group campaign with a clash against Czech Republic.

Wembley is then set to host two round-of-16 games, with 50 per cent capacity the aim, before the ground hosts the semi-finals and final of the tournament.

While Uefa has expressed confidence that their plans will play out as hoped, the European football governing body has admitted to having a back-up plan.

“Uefa is delighted that the capacity at Wembley will go up to at least 50% for the knock-out round matches,” read a statement released on Friday.

“At the moment, we are in discussions with the local authorities to try to allow fans of the participating teams to attend the matches, using a strict testing and bubble concept that would mean their stay in the UK would be less than 24 hours and their movements would be restricted to approved transport and venues only.

“We understand the pressures that the Government face and hope to be able to reach a satisfactory conclusion of our discussions on the matter.

“There is always a contingency plan but we are confident that the final week will be held in London.”

On the matter, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “We’ll do what we have to do to keep the country safe from Covid. That’s obviously going to be our priority.

“We’ll be talking to Uefa about what they want and see if we can make some sensible accommodations, but the priority obviously has to be public health.”