According to CCTV5 program list (January 18, 2024), the European Cup is one of the biggest football events in Europe. It is held every four years and has attracted the attention of countless fans around the world. However, this European Cup has been postponed for the first time in history
According to CCTV5 program list (January 18, 2024), the European Cup is one of the biggest football events in Europe. It is held every four years and has attracted the attention of countless fans around the world. However, this European Cup has been postponed for the first time in history. The match originally scheduled to be held in the summer of 2020 has been postponed to June 11 to July 11, 2021 due to the impact of the new championship epidemic. What is the reason for this decision?
In March 2020, UEFA announced that, in order to ensure the health and safety of all participants, as well as to leave enough time and space for national leagues and cup competitions, it decided to extend the 2020 European Cup for one year, still retaining the original name and schedule. This is the first time that the European Cup has changed its time for non war reasons since its inception in 1960.
The postponement of the European Cup is undoubtedly a major blow to European football. It not only affects the team's preparation plan, players' state and status, fans' experience of watching the game, but also brings huge economic losses to UEFA and various host countries. It is estimated that UEFA has lost at least 300 million euros in revenue due to the postponement of the European Cup, while various host countries are also faced with refunds and compensations from sponsors, hotels, tourism and other aspects.
The postponement of the European Cup also brought a series of chain reactions to the international football schedule in 2021. Originally, in the summer of 2021, China would hold the first World Club Cup with 24 teams. However, due to the time conflict with the European Cup, FIFA had to postpone the World Club Cup to 2022, which also means that China will host the Winter Olympics, the World Club Cup and the Asian Games in 2022, becoming a sports year. Due to the epidemic, the Tokyo Olympic Games was postponed from 2020 to 2021, less than a month away from the European Cup. This is undoubtedly a huge test for some players who participate in two events at the same time.
The postponement of the European Cup has also changed the fate of some teams and players. Some teams get more rest and preparation time because of the delay, such as France, Germany and the Netherlands, which are plagued by injury waves. They have the opportunity to recover some important players and improve the overall strength of the team. However, some teams lose some advantages due to the delay, such as England, Belgium and Italy, which are in good condition. They may face problems such as the decline of some players' condition, injury problems or aging. For some individual players, the postponement of the European Cup is also a double-edged sword. Some players may miss their last appearance because of the postponement, such as Croatian Modric, Spanish Iniesta and Swedish Ibrahimovic. Some players may welcome their own opportunities because of the postponement, such as French Benzema Greenwood in England and Muller in Germany.
The postponement of the European Cup is not only a helpless move under the epidemic, but also a test and challenge to European football. We look forward to the successful holding of the 2021 European Cup, which will bring exciting games to fans around the world and hope and glory to European football.