VIENNA: Euro 2024, which is to be hosted by Germany, will open on June 14 at the Allianz Arena in Munich and end on July 14 with the final at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, UEFA announced on Tuesday.

UEFA said environmental impact had been taken into consideration “for the first time” so the 10 hosting cities have been divided into three regions: north/north-east (Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig), west (Dortmund, Dusseldorf and Cologne) and south (Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich).

During the group stage, matches “will only be held in two regions, to reduce the distances for the teams and the supporters,” UEFA said.

It is in marked contrast to Euro 2020, which was held a year later because of Covid-19, which was hosted by 11 cities from 11 countries, from London to Baku.

In the midst of the pandemic and the attendant problems of crossing borders, some teams were required to make extremely long journeys and adjust quickly to distinctly different climatic conditions.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2022