Cherry on our European cake?

Several regional sports outlets reported today, citing German-based news agency Deutsche Welle, that Balkan neighbours Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina may pose a joint candidature to co-host Euro 2020. This prospect has been discussed informally for years by regional soccer fans and, after Croatia’s unsuccessful bid to co-host Euro 2012 with Hungary, the door may be open for a new attempt that promotes “good neighbourly relations” in Southeast Europe.

Continental governing body UEFA would likely support such a proposal, given President Michel Platini’s affinity for developing smaller markets and the symbolic value of having the noted countries co-host the tournament nearly 30 years after the conclusion of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. But according to regional media, all parties involved have conceded that finances will play the deciding role in whether a joint candidature would be posed.

In addition, regional governments would almost certainly need to offer their backing in order for such a proposal to materialize. Given that the host countries would play the vast majority of their games in their home nation, security does not appear to pose a problem at first glance. What, then, are the key determining variables that will shape this idea in the years to come?

The History

Red Star Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia previously hosted the 1972-73 European Champions Cup final between Ajax and Juventus, as well as co-hosting the 1976 UEFA European Championship (at that time, a four-team tournament) with Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia. In addition, Kosevo Stadium in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina previously hosted the 1984 Olympic Games. With no major international soccer tournaments held on the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1976, the Euro 2020 roposal has historical connotations - made all the more significant by the well-known tensions that existed between the three neighbouring states throughout the 1990s and beyond. Co-hosting Euro 2020 would certainly go a long way toward showing the world that the region has grown beyond its former problems. Soccer remains by far the most popular sport in the region, and demand to attend the event would come from domestic fans, the diaspora and international fans alike.

The Logistics

Beginning with Euro 2016 in France, the European Championship will consist of 24 teams rather than the current 16. The teams will be placed in six groups of four – ideal for a tournament co-organized among three neighbours, with each country hosting a number of matches equivalent to two full groups (12 matches each, including three each played by the host nations) in the opening phase. The fifteen knockout round fixtures, beginning with the round of 16, could again be split evenly – though selecting a host venue for the final would certainly be a major point of debate between the countries concerned.

The expansion to 24 teams would allow Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to qualify for the tournament automatically as co-hosts, without jeopardizing the quality of the competition. The Euro 2020 qualifying would feature the remaining 50 UEFA member associations vying for 21 additional spots in the tournament. The most likely qualifying format would feature nine groups in total (five groups of six teams and four groups of five teams), with the nine winners and runners-up qualifying automatically. The six best third-placed teams would then play-off to determine the three remaining qualifiers.

The Requirements

For Euro 2016 in France, presumably to remain consistent for future editions of the 24-team competition, UEFA has specified the following stadium requirements:

• 2 stadia with 50,000 seats;
• 3 stadia with 40,000 seats;
• 4 stadia with 30,000 seats.

For Euro 2020, the three co-hosts would therefore presumably offer three stadiums each, for a total of nine. Let’s take a look at the current soccer infrastructure available in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Serbia presently possesses only two stadia with a capacity higher than 30,000 spectators, and both are located in the capital of Belgrade: Red Star Stadium (54,000) and Partizan Stadium (30,887). Both facilities have long-standing renovation plans that would have to take effect in order to assure adequate, modern infrastructure for the tournament. The Serbian FA also plans to build a new “Stadium Serbia”, presumably to complement the new FA Headquarters in the town of Stara Pazova. The proposed stadium would have a capacity of 80,000, and the FA is counting on financial assistance from FIFA and UEFA in order to realize the project.

Croatia possesses only two stadia that meet the UEFA capacity requirements: Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb (38,923) and Poljud Stadium in Split (35,000). Bosnia-Herzegovina has only one facility that qualifies: Kosevo Stadium in Sarajevo (37,500), though Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica has a theoretical maximum capacity of 35,000. Both countries would therefore need to renovate their existing stadia (with Maksimir and Bilino Polje the most likely candidates for upgrades to fit more than 40,000 spectators), and both would need to offer at least one new stadium (preferably with a capacity of at least 50,000) in order to link up with Serbia and meet UEFA’s nine-stadium requirement. Presuming a similar preparation deadline to that of Euro 2016, the stadia in all three host nations would have to be ready by 30 June 2018 – two years prior to the start of the tournament.

The Conclusion

A proposal to co-host an international tournament shared among the republics of the former Yugoslavia will almost certainly happen in the future, just as the proposal to form a joint soccer league. Whether or not this is feasible by 2020 will be determined largely by financial factors, as each country would have to rennovate two stadia and build at least one more in order to satisfy UEFA requirements.

As has been demonstrated by the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, proposals to host major tournaments in formerly volatile or less-developed regions of the world require the full backing of FIFA and/or UEFA, and this may well be the determining factor in whether Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina formally pose their candidature for Euro 2020. If the Poland-Ukraine co-hosting bid for Euro 2012 is any indication, the countries concerned will have to fulfill their infrastructure-related commitments or will risk having the event moved to an emergency location.

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