David Owen: A tale of two Euros – why Platini’s Big Idea for one Euro may hinge on politicians’ big ideas for another

David Owen_-_IWF

Two years ago, it looked odds-on that the 2020 European Championship would be staged in Turkey.

An impressive campaign for Euro 2016, in which the Turks were edged out by France, many thought unluckily, allied to a vibrant economy and the scale to cope with the tournament’s expansion to 24 teams, left the strong impression that Ankara’s claim to Euro 2020 (pictured below, logo) would be all but irresistible – if they decided that they wanted the competition.

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Philip Barker: How Britain’s footballers earned a reprieve to compete in Melbourne 1956 Games

Philip Barker

The announcement of Britain’s Olympic football squad has made front page news, not least because of who was left out. Back in 1956, the side for the Melbourne Games was named in instalments and they had already been knocked out of the tournament once.

For the first time, a home and away system of qualification had been introduced.

In those days British international teams were chosen by a panel of selectors. 

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UEFA to delay naming of Euro 2020 hosts

UEFA Euro_Championship_trophy

By Andrew Warshaw

July 2 – UEFA will vote on selecting the host nation for the 2020 European Championship in May 2014, several months later than originally announced, another decision which seems to help Istanbul’s campaign to stage the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

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