Euro 2020 Advisory

To help with your planning, here is a look at some of what AP is planning for the upcoming European Championship soccer tournament. For questions, please email the London Sports editing desk at lonsports@ap.org. For up-to-the-minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org. This advisory will be updated and is subject to change. All times GMT. MONDAY, May 24 SOC–EURO 2020-PANDEMIC CHALLENGES GENEVA – UEFA set itself a challenge deciding nine years ago to let a dozen cities around Europe host its marquee European Championship in 2020. Now, staging the postponed 24-team tournament in a pandemic has added stress. It’s also helped fans. The multi-country project means more fans can see their own team in a stadium than if Euro 2020 was being traditionally hosted by a single nation amid international travel restrictions. By Graham Dunbar. UPCOMING: 600 words by 1300 GMT, photos. TUESDAY, May 25 SOC–EURO 2020-VIRUS LONDON – A tournament intended to be a celebration of Europe will instead reflect many of the uncertainties that have beset soccer during the pandemic. Just completing Euro 2020 in 11 cities around Europe will be a triumph, and with fully healthy squads. For players, the pandemic has meant a congested season that poses fitness challenges, let alone trying to avoid coronavirus infections. Financially playing the delayed tournament is essential for UEFA. For fans, the 24-team event should be the first chance for the widespread return of fans to stadiums across Europe since March 2020, assuming new restrictions aren’t imposed. By Rob Harris. UPCOMING: 700 words by 1300 GMT, photos. SOC–EURO 2020-VENUES With coronavirus restrictions eased to allow fans back into stadiums, there at least will be some atmosphere at the tournament after months of games being played without any. Budapest wants all fans to come, while Saint Petersburg and Baku hope to use 50% of stadium capacity. Other major cities like Amsterdam, Bucharest and London are being more cautious with numbers. By Jerome Pugmire. UPCOMING: 750 words by 1300 GMT, photos. WEDNESDAY, May 26 SOC–EURO 2020-THE FANS With games scattered across 11 cities from London to Baku, this year’s European Championship is going to be hard on the fans. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, it remains to be seen how many supporters will be able to attend matches or if any can follow their teams across borders into different countries. UPCOMING: 500 words by 1300 GMT, photos. SOC–EURO 2020-CHANGING FORMAT GENEVA – In modern international soccer, tournament and competition formats are always changing. Euro 2020 will be the third straight variation of a European Championship format and hosting plan. From 16 teams with all hosts qualifying directly, to 24 and one host, and now 11 host cities around Europe and all 24 teams qualifying on merit. How could future tournaments look? By Graham Dunbar. UPCOMING: 600 words by 1300 GMT, photos. THURSDAY, May 27 SOC–EURO 2020-TOP PLAYERS MADRID – With a chance to become the all-time top scorer with a national team, Cristiano Ronaldo will highlight the list of top players at this year’s European Championship. Others who could make an impact include Kylian Mbappé, Robert Lewandowski, Kevin De Bruyne and Harry Kane. By Tales Azzoni. UPCOMING: 600 words by 1300 GMT, photos. SOC–EURO 2020-TOP COACHES