Health fears lay low mountain football Euros

GENEVA: The coronavirus pandemic claimed another sporting casualty on Sunday when organisers announced that the Mountain Village Euros, scheduled for the end of August in Switzerland, has been put back a year.

“Similar to our big sister, the UEFA European Football Championship, we will also postpone our tournament, based on the current pandemic situation, until the year 2021,” Fabian Furrer, president of the organising committee, wrote on the competition web site.

The competition will be held at 1,899 metres in Gspon in Switzerland, in the shadow of the Matterhorn, on what Furrer said is the highest football pitch in Europe.

It had drawn entries from nine countries, including England, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The tournament was originally scheduled for June and had been postponed once before organisers finally gave in to the concerns of the local municipal council in Staldenried.

“This close to the actual start, the coronavirus pandemic has created something like cold feet for many,” wrote Furrer.

The Ottmar Hitzfeld Stadium is accessible only by cable car and the pitch is covered in snow until May.