NYON: European football's governing body UEFA on Friday confirmed that the 2020 European Championship will be staged in 13 different cities across the continent.
UEFA's executive committee rubber-stamped the proposals, which were first made public last month, for the 2020 finals to be the first "Euro for Europe".
Previous tournaments have been held in one country or, as was the case at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, jointly-hosted by two neighbouring countries.
For 2020, UEFA have stipulated that there will be a maximum of one venue per country, and added that the two semi-finals and the final will all be held in the same stadium.
The remaining 12 winning bids will each host three group matches as well as one knockout tie from either the Round of 16 or the quarter-finals.
No nation will qualify automatically for the finals, but every host that qualifies will be guaranteed two home matches in the group phase.
No such guarantees would be given for the knockout stages.
UEFA also said they will try to take travel distances into account when allocating hosting teams to groups, "for example, and if feasible, with flights not exceeding two hours' duration between two host cities to allow easy access to travelling fans."
UEFA president Michel Platini insisted everything would be done to make a pan-European event -- to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the first European Nations Cup -- as fan-friendly as possible.
"We will play across the whole of Europe. All 53 national federations can be candidates," he said.
"A country with one stadium can host games, so supporters from that country can see the Euros.
"I think it's a very good deal for countries that would otherwise never be able to host a Euro."
Any city hoping to host the final must boast a stadium capable of holding at least 70,000 fans, but 30,000-seat venues will be considered for group matches.
Cities hoping to stage matches must put forward their bids by September this year, with the winning candidates named in September 2014.
Turkey had initially been the most likely contender to host the finals outright, but Istanbul's bid to host that summer's Olympics ruled them out.
Platini said he would still support a Turkish bid to host matches, so long as Istanbul is not chosen by the International Olympic Committee ahead of Madrid and Tokyo when the winning 2020 Games bid is announced on September 7.
"I'll vote for Turkey if they are candidates and they don't have the Olympics," he declared.
"If they have the Olympics, it is absolutely out of the question for them to host the Euros."
Platini put forward the controversial "Euro for Europe" plan in December, saying that it would be difficult for any one country to make the necessary financial commitment to stage a 24-team championship given the current economic climate.
"The situation is difficult in Europe," he said at the time. "It's hard to ask one country to invest in 10 stadiums like in Ukraine."
Platini has also insisted that the competition will return to its traditional format for 2024.
The 2016 European Championship, which will be held in France, will be the first following the decision to increase the number of competing nations from 16 to 24.
- AFP/jc
Football: Thirteen cities to host Euro 2020
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Football: Thirteen cities to host Euro 2020
