GENEVA – It seemed ambitious nine years ago when UEFA said it would organize the 2020 European Championship in 13 different cities around the continent.
It seemed optimistic last year when UEFA decided to stick to a 12-city plan after postponing Euro 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic was declared.
Now Euro 2020 will kick off in 11 cities, separated by four time zones and up to 4,700 kilometers (3,000 miles). Yet the quirky, one-time-only hosting plan looks to be the best result fans could hope for with the coronavirus continuing to limit international travel.
Nine of the 11 hosts — all except Azerbaijan and Romania — qualified for the 24-team tournament, giving tens of thousands of fans the chance to see at least two home games.