Londres (AFP) – The Football Association of Wales has been invited to bid again to stage matches at the 2020 European Championships.
The Welsh FA lost out in the original bidding process in 2014 when UEFA chose 13 cities across Europe to mark the 60th anniversary of the first European Championship.
But there are concerns over Belgium’s 60,000-capacity Eurostadium project, with the planned stadium near Brussels yet to be built.
Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, Wembley, which will host the final and semi-finals of Euro 2020, and Swedish capital Stockholm are also being considered as UEFA start a process of selecting a possible replacement city for Brussels.
“Naturally the FAW are delighted to be given this opportunity,” FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford said on Wednesday.
“We will work hard to once again produce a strong case for the games to be played in Cardiff and will use the experience of the Champions League to demonstrate what a success we will make of hosting these matches.
“It would be fantastic for Welsh football to not only qualify for the Euro 2020 finals but also to stage some of the key matches.”
Cardiff staged both the men’s and women’s UEFA Champions League finals this year.
The men’s final was held at the 74,500-capacity Principality Stadium, while the women’s final was staged at the Cardiff City Stadium.
A decision is expected in December as to whether the matches will be hosted in Brussels or one of the new venues.
Hampden Park in Glasgow and Dublin’s Aviva Stadium will both stage three group games and a last-16 match at Euro 2020.
The quarter-finals and three group matches will be held in Munich, Baku, Roma and St Petersburg.
The other host cities, which will hold three group games and a last-16 game, are Copenhagen, Bucharest, Amsterdam, Bilbao and Budapest.
