England ready to host more Euro 2020 games: PM

LONDON: England is ready to host extra matches for this year’s European football championships, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an interview published on Tuesday.

Johnson told The Sun of his government’s ambitions as he laid out a joint United Kingdom and Ireland bid to host the 2030 World Cup.

The Euros are set to be played in 12 cities across the continent from June 11, after being postponed last year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The tabloid said British ministers are holding talks with European football’s governing body UEFA about hosting more games due to rising cases across the continent and the slow rollout of vaccines.

Britain has been one of the nations hardest-hit by the virus but has already vaccinated 20 million people with at least one dose and plans to finish the whole population by the end of July.

Johnson’s spokesman last week dismissed talk about England hosting the whole tournament but Johnson indicated the country could take on more than just the semi-finals and final at Wembley. “Any other matches they want hosted, we are certainly on for that!” he said. “We are hosting the Euros. We are hosting the semis and the final.

“If there’s, you know, if they want any other matches that they want hosted, we’re certainly on for that but at the moment that’s where we are with UEFA.”