Back in 2012 UEFA decided that the 60th anniversary of the first UEFA European Championships would be a little different. Instead of one host nation, 13 cities - as far West as Dublin and East as Baku - were selected to host games in a continent-wide celebration of Europe.
Enter the pandemic.
After delaying EURO 2020 to the summer of 2021, UEFA now, reportedly, want assurances by April from host nations that they can host games, or face the prospect of those games going elsewhere. Among the host nations reportedly struggling to make that assurance are Scotland.
Meanwhile England - with no shortage of stadiums that fit UEFA’s criteria, and a government roadmap to allow fans in sports grounds by the summer - are talking up their chances of hosting additional games, with reports the whole tournament could ‘come home’ thanks to a swift vaccine roll out.
But would England be willing to go it alone? Or - more to the point - would they want to go It alone if that meant stopping Scotland hosting games?
There is a problem with this, and it is simple. The UK government does not want to see Scottish independence, and - while any decision to strip Glasgow of its games will be a UEFA decision based on Scottish Government advice - any decision that takes Scotland’s games and moves them south of the border would be an absolute gift to an SNP who need a distraction from the ongoing fall out between Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond.
Add in that we are just months from a Scottish election in which the SNP are talking up a majority as consent for another referendum, and the UK government will want to avoid any opportunity for the SNP to exploit. Scotland’s first tournament games since 1998 being moved from Glasgow and to England would be a real electoral boost.
But if Scotland can stay in the picture, the prospect of a UK-wide EUROs would be hugely appealing to the government as a show of unity - the kind of event, they would argue, that Scotland would not be able to host alone (just ignore the Glasgow Commonwealth Games). And nor could England - considering its failed 2018 World Cup bid and upcoming 2030 bid including Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Nevertheless, with a successful vaccine roll out, England are best placed to host more games (and - though UEFA want to avoid it - the entire tournament). While the prospect of England hosting more EURO games this summer is exciting, England hosting the whole tournament on its own would draw up its own problems on a political level. It could ultimately cost the Union.
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