By Andrew Warshaw
October 10 – The Football Association of Wales (FAW) has expressed its support for UEFA President Michel Platini’s plan to push the 2020 European Championship finals across the entire continent.
Platini wants the finals to take place in a dozen or so cities rather than in one or two countries and will discuss the idea with his Executive Committee in December.
Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland formally informed UEFA back in May they would be keen to jointly bid for the tournament.
However, Platini’s plan looks almost certain to supersede this – especially if Turkey, at one stage favourites, officially pull out of the race because of Istanbul’s bid for the Olympics and Paralympics in the same year.
“In this economic climate, it is very difficult for an individual country to justify or quantify the fact that they’re going to have to invest in so much on infrastructure that sometimes wouldn’t be used,” said FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford (pictured top).
“Let’s not forget, Portugal Euro 2004 was a great success, but three of its stadiums have since been demolished.”
In an interview with iSportConnect, Ford added: “The power of these events is more than just what happens on the field of play, it’s a societal thing and we have got to be careful that we don’t take that best element of what these events represent.”
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