Yes, after a fiercely contested bidding battle, the European football authority UEFA has awarded the 2020 international tournament to… the whole of Europe. Whether this is because, with the expansion to 24 teams, it has become impractical for all but the biggest countries to host the thing, or because Michel Platini never, ever wants to have to spend another month in somewhere like Donetsk, is not known at this time.
Personally, I would have preferred to keep it at sixteen teams. I mean, there are only 50-odd countries in Europe in the first place. But, if we must go up to 24 teams, this decision makes sense. The group stages will presumably be region-based, which should be a nice way for the regions involved to have a taste of hosting a major sporting event without the collosal expense and hassle of running the whole thing.
I’m ambivalent about the increase to 24. On the upside, it increases England’s chances of qualifying for the tournament, which is never guaranteed. On the downside, it decreases England’s chances of reaching the last 16 of the tournament, should they qualify :).
On balance, I don’t think there was anything wrong with the current format. After all, every member of UEFA is involved already at the qualifying stage, then the best 16 contest the finals. Extending the finals to 24 teams (I assume this is the proposal - I haven’t actually read anything about it other than the OP) will make the event longer, which means players will have less rest between seasons when they have precious little as it is. However, clearly this has been done to raise more TV money. It must be only a matter of time before the World Cup and the Euros change to every 2 years each.
I’d rather the Euros remain at sixteen teams. If they want to open things up to smaller countries and have a better chance of making it to the finals (not the championship Final), I think they’d be better off trimming the fat in the qualifying groups. Have a Haves qualifying (Spain, Italy, Germany, etc.) and a Have-Nots qualifying (Faroe Islands, Andorra, etc.). Go with eight groups of four for the Haves, and three groups of four and one group of five for the Have-Nots. Group winners from the Haves make it to the Euros, and the four best runners-up do, too, based on some formula. The remaining runners-up from the Haves face group winners from the Have-Nots in a two-leg playoff, or maybe even a single match to make the upset a little likelier. We’d still see the big countries dominate, but then countries like Norway, Turkey, and England (:p) could have that playoff against the minnows to make the tournament.
The obvious problem is that this means there are only six group stage matches for each country rather than eight or ten, so that’s a loss of income. But I don’t think most countries are playing in front of sell-out crowds for most of the matches anyway, and if I were European, even as a fan of the game I couldn’t be bothered to watch France vs. Faroe Islands or something like that on tv. To make up for the shortfall, the tv rights could probably go up a bit (more matches of higher quality and importance rather than endless dead rubbers) and attendance would probably go up and tickets could be a bit expensive. To me, it seems to be the best way to keep the tournament interesting and competitive, and it doesn’t have bloated group stages, and (this should be big for Platini) the so-called minnows actually have a shot. San Marino will never ever make it to the Euros in the current qualifying set-up. Playing other have-nots in qualifying will give them a chance, and then they just need one or two good matches against a second- or third-tier club in that playoff.
As for the lack of a single host nation, if it’s for one tournament, I can live with it. Without giving the tournament to countries that have hosted with the World Cup or Euros within the last 30 years, and keeping it in a country that has the necessary infrastructure, I just don’t know where you can go. By 2024, maybe the UAE (!!!) can buy the rights to host it anyway, and then in 2028 go back to Europe’s larger countries.
