Minimum capacity for group stage is set at 50,000 seats, which means it’s higher than for FIFA World Cup! Venue for the final has to have over 70,000 seats and will also host both semifinals. UEFA just published more details…

During today’s meeting of the Executive Committee discussed several decisions for Euro 2020 bidding phase. Before the process can begin, framework was set. Most important information – 13 cities (one stadium per city) in 13 countries will host the unique event.

Smallest stadiums acceptable for group stage games will have to have 50,000 seats (!), but in order not to exclude smaller countries, up to two exceptions can be made for stadia with 30,000+ capacity. This way states like Switzerland, Denmark, Norway or Croatia will also have a chance to bid.

Worth mentioning, minimum capacity of 50,000 is the highest required for any event worldwide (!), including the World Cup. Meanwhile at Euro 2020 this will be enough only for group games and round of 16.

For quarterfinal games only stadia of 60,000+ will be accepted, while the largest stadium, of 70,000+ will get two semifinals and the final. Remaining venues will receive ‘packages’ of 3 group games + one 1/16 or quarterfinal.

Bidding will be open for existing stadiums and those undergoing or expecting major works. One condition set at this time is that any works are due to start in 2016, otherwise such bid will be reviewed and may end up rejected. We may expect, though, that UEFA will keep bids from those projects, that are guaranteed to be done in time.

With such a number of host countries, UEFA cannot retain the rule of hosts not qualifying for the tournament. However, each host team will play 2 games in front of their home crowd. Matches in other countries will be assigned in a way that will allow short travelling distances for fans. For national teams this will mean they may stay at their home training camps instead of moving prior to the tournament.

Below is the time frame set for the bidding process:

• 28 March 2013: Approval of the bidding requirements and bid regulations
• April 2013: Publication of the bid requirements and launch of the bidding phase
• September 2013: Formal confirmation of their bid by the candidates
• April/May 2014: Submission of bid dossiers and start of the evaluation phase
• September 2014: Appointment of the host cities by the UEFA Executive Committee