German soccer boss backs continent-wide Euro 2020

Wolfgang Niersbach with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen in Dortmund in September. The German Football Federation has backed UEFA’s proposals to host the 2020 European Championships as a Europe-wide tournament across the continent’s major cities.

BERLIN - German Football Federation (DFB) president Wolfgang Niersbach has backed UEFA’s proposals to host the 2020 European Championships as a Europe-wide tournament across the continent’s major cities.

According to a report in German daily Bild, the executive committee of European football’s governing body UEFA will discuss on December 7 plans to host games in major cities across the continent.

“We have discussed the matter and we’re open to the idea,” Niersbach told SID, an AFP subsidiary.

“The idea of holding Euro matches in Germany is, of course, attractive.”

The proposal has been controversial as it breaks from the norm of a single host country.

The plans for 2020 would see 13 major cities — including Berlin, Paris, London, Rome, Moscow and Madrid — hosting matches and the final decision could be made in January with the 2016 tournament to be hosted by France.

According to current UEFA proposals at least three games would be played in Germany and should the German team qualify, their group stage games would be played in Berlin.

The idea will be discussed further at a meeting in Brussels on November 27 and 28 November where Niersbach and DFB General Secretary Helmut Sandrock will be present.