Wembley Stadium is by far one of the most notable football venues in England and the world. As part of the EURO 2020, it was supposed to be one of the 12 stadiums that were supposed to host the greatest Euro Cup competition ever seen, counting 24 national teams.
Instead, tragedy struck and as we all know by now the COVID-19 epidemic has decimated Europe and the entire world. This caused prompted the officials to move EURO 2020 for 12 months and leaving fans on the cusp until it continues.
The 60th anniversary of the UEFA European Football Competition was supposed to end at Wembley, which was going to host its second Euro Cup final after 1996.
So how are things now?
Instead of Euro 2020 Finale, We Got an EFL League One Playoff Final
If coronavirus hadn’t intervened, we would have been watching the finale of the Euro 2020 on July 12 at Wembley stadium. Instead, fans will have to be content with the EFL League One Playoff final match between Wycombe Wanderers and Oxford United.
Not really what fans would hope to see on this faithful day. The level of football might be considerably lower but they still may be able to witness history as Wycombe is challenging for qualifying for the Championship for the first time in their 100-year long history.
However, matches are still played without crowds so Wembley is going to look like a ghost stadium with 90,000 empty seats.
Loss of Revenue
The greatest damage that the epidemic has on sports is the loss of revenue. The UEFA Euro 2020 might have been the first major tournament that had been postponed due to the outbreak. But all major leagues around Europe have been either postponed or entirely canceled.
Luckily, some were able to continue after safe conditions had been met. But there are many that were left without champions and simply decided to cancel the season as if it had never happened.
FA has announced that they are expecting a £300 million ($380 million, 335 million Euros) loss, and that is if a second wave does not occur. It is a major blow that does not help anybody.
How Will Football Continue?
It seems that, at least for now, we are not going to see fans coming back to stadiums any time soon. The leagues that have continued their competitions have been played behind locked doors. Leaving fans to watch matches from the safety and comfort of their own homes.
Both the Champions League and the Europa League are set to continue by the start of August. This brings hopes to people that things might be getting back to normal. However, uncertainty still lies when it comes to the EURO 2020.
Even though it was postponed for a period of 12 months we still can’t predict what the future will hold. Travel restrictions are currently imposed differently in various countries around Europe and who knows what might happen by the time next year comes over.
We can only hope for the best and for football to come back safely.
