Azerbaijan ready to host UEFA Euro 2020
By Nazrin Gadimova
Azerbaijan has been nominated for hosting the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship.
This was announced on March 7 by President of Azerbaijan Federation of Football Associations (AFFA) Rovnag Abdullayev.
He made the announcement at a press conference which was attended by the first UEFA Vice-President Senes Erzik.
Speaking at the event, Abdullayev said all the necessary documentation has been completed and a final decision will be made in April of this year.
"If Baku is selected as the venue for the championship, we are ready to host it at a high level," Abdullayev said.
The last year has been successful for AFFA, because the Azerbaijani national football team earned nine points in the qualifying stage of the World Cup 2014, according to Abdullayev.
President Aliyev decreed earlier to prepare for Baku's bid to host the championship. A working group was established under the leadership of AFFA President Rovnag Abdullayev to draw up a "Bid Book", which was presented to UEFA.
The other cities seeking to host the championship include London, Yerevan, Minsk, Brussels, Sofia, Budapest, Munich, Athens, Roma, Milan, Astana, Warsaw, Amsterdam, St Petersburg, Bucharest, Istanbul, and some other cities.
The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2020, will be the 16th European Championship for national football teams organized by UEFA. It will be held in thirteen different cities of European countries during the middle of 2020 (with the exact dates and cities to be announced later).
The winners will earn the right to participate in the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup hosted by Qatar.