The Italian Federation has grown concerned after the words of UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who has ruled out not having fans on the stands during Euro 2021. Gabriele Gravina is trying to sketch out a plan that can be greenlighted by the public health officials, who have never considered re-opening Serie A arenas since the start second wave of the pandemic, Repubblica reports.
The Olimpico stadium is set to host the opening match between Italy and Turkey and four other games of the group A that includes also Wales and Switzerland. FIGC (the Italian FA) wants to have 30 percent capacity, so around 20k people. Vaccines are the main hope, as the campaign might have progressed enough by June to be safe. Otherwise, it could be required to present a recent negative swab in order to attend the matches.
Casa Azzurri will be located in viale Angelico, in a huger former bus warehouse, while there will be a fan zone in Piazza del Popolo. Both will have limited entries. Federations will have to provide UEFA a general indication by April 5th, while the deadline will fall on April 20th.
Ceferin recently stated: “We are working at different options, but the only guarantee is that Euro 2021 will not be played in empty stadiums. The ideal scenario is to confirm the 12 original locations, otherwise we will move forward with 10 or 11 countries. It will hinge on whether they will be able to satisfy our request.” The other cities scheduled to host the travelling tournament are Munich, Amsterdam, Baku, Bilbao, Budapest, Bucharest, Dublin, Glasgow, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg and London.