Euro 2020, Copa America Kicking Off Just In Time To Heal Pandemic Wounds
As the world gradually recovers from the horrors of COVID-19 pandemic's second wave, we badly need activities that will help us regain our confidence in exploring the possibilities of victory and dismiss the gloomy thoughts of surrender. The universe is conspiring to do just that -- to let our spirits soar beyond all the sombreness and suffering, even if for the briefest of moments.
Two continents ¨C Europe and South America ¨C are about to begin two of world¡¯s biggest football competitions. The fans are eagerly awaiting?to spend some hours with their families and friends supporting their teams, pausing all pandemic-ridden thoughts.?
ALSO READ: Why France Could Actually Win Euro 2020
The Euros were planned for summer of 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic quickly made it impossible, and UEFA shifted the Euro Championships to 2021. Most of the European countries, particularly England, Italy, France and Germany have mostly recovered from the two deadly pandemic waves. Now, Europe seems ready to open the gates of the stadiums for the public to come and watch their heroes play. What a sight it will be, at long last!
Euro 2020 & Copa America: Host countries
This time, the Euro 2020 matches will be held across Europe between June 11 and July 11. This is happening for the first time in the 60 year history of the tournament. Several cities of Europe have prepared themselves to host the biggest football event in the continent. Although, matches of the UEFA Champions League are played across Europe, the passion for the European title with the national team will be entirely different.?
Cities like London, Rome, Munich and others saw a lot of COVID-19 cases. However, they have recovered well and appear fully prepared to leave the past behind and look to host the matches with full energy. People, too, seem ready to throng the streets, singing the songs and praising their teams. A glimpse of this was seen during the recently held UEFA Champions League final at Estadio Do Dragao in Porto. The match was between the two English teams Manchester City and Chelsea. The event saw a lot of people travelling from England to Portugal.
Meanwhile, in South America, Argentina and Colombia were getting ready to host 10 nations for the Copa America event. This, too, would have made history, as for the first time in 105 years, the tournament would have two joint hosts. But social and economic unrest caused by anti-government protests made it difficult for Colombia to host the tournament, according to reports.?
In Argentina, COVID-19 spoilt the party. Rising number of Covid cases forced the authorities to think about shifting the tournament away from Argentina. Though CONMEBOL did not disclose the exact reason, it said ¡°present circumstances¡± compelled them to arrive at the decision.
Copa America will finally be held in four Brazilian cities this time ¡ª Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Goiania and Cuiaba. The opening match will be played between original hosts Argentina and Chile on June 13, while the defending champions Brazil will play against Venezuela a day later.?
Brazil was one of the worst pandemic-hit countries in the world. It was right on top along with US and India in terms of number of deaths and daily fresh cases. Although there¡¯s huge criticism of Brazil over hosting the sporting event at such a critical time, the authorities are confident that they are prepared with their safety plans.
Which teams are participating?
Euro 2020 will see 24 teams competing for the title. The teams, which have qualified this time include:
Group A: Turkey, Italy, Wales, Switzerland
Group B: Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Russia
Group C: Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, North Macedonia
Group D: England, Croatia, Scotland, Czech Republic
Group E: Spain, Sweden, Poland, Slovakia
Group F: Hungary, Portugal, France, Germany
Meanwhile, in Copa America, for the first time since 1993, the Copa Am¨¦rica will not feature two guest nations after CONMEBOL announced it will host this summer's tournament with only the 10 South American nations ¨C Argentina,?Uruguay, Chile,?Paraguay and?Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Australia and Qatar were slated to participate, but?both national teams were forced to withdraw due to?World Cup qualifying in Asia?this summer.?
How will the safety of fans be ensured?
According to Euro 2020 organisers, safety protocols relating to the pandemic differ between host nations, and while local health regulations provide the primary reference point for ensuring supporter safety at each stadium, including attendance limits, they are supplemented by UEFA's own minimum criteria. This means that match organisers at all UEFA matches are committed to adopting best practices based on medical advice to minimise the risk of infection.
The organisers have asked the hosts to ensure that practices including, general hygiene measures, ticketing and seating, temperature measurement, queue management and food stalls, etc., should be conducted with utmost care to ensure that the pandemic stays away from the venues.
New normal for major sporting events?
If all goes well, these sports tournaments will mark a new beginning for the post-Covid mega events. A lot of lessons will be learnt from these events about how to conduct the upcoming sporting events which include, the Wimbledon and ICC World Test Championship final in England, the all-important Olympics in Tokyo, ICC T20 World Cup in India, and in 2022 the first ever FIFA World Cup in the Gulf.
It is true that the pandemic is far from over. Experts are constantly warning about future COVID-19 waves with possibly more lethal mutants. However, a history of human civilisation teaches us that humans have been the ultimate survivors on the planet. If there¡¯s anything that¡¯s going to help us is a positive attitude towards life, lots of discipline in healthcare and an effort to keep entertaining ourselves. What could be better than football for that, the beautiful game most followed all around the world? Even if you don¡¯t follow players on the field, their stories off the field are worth exploring, especially in these unprecedented times we live in.
So let¡¯s hope and pray that all of us stay safe, watch and enjoy the upcoming sporting events, get vaccinated and say goodbye to the pandemic.
