The glorious Euro 2020 summer of football has finally arrived – and with it the news that England won their first game.
However, shouldn’t we be calling it Euro 2021, since it is 2021?
This is a question that has vexed many observers since the tournament kicked off a few days ago.
Like nearly everything else, the original vision for Euro 2020 was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
So why isn’t it known as Euro 2021, rather than Euro 2020?
Euro 2020 news: UEFA explains all
According to reports, the European football governing body decided to stick with Euro 2020 to “keep the vision of the competition”.
However, the decision not to update the name to Euro 2021 probably has legal and administrative concerns too.
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Contracts relating to every aspect of the tournament across 11 countries and involving 24 teams most likely include the Euro 2020 brand name.
Can you imagine having to update all of that paperwork, arguably completely unnecessarily?
Which other reasons are pinpointed?
Press claims also suggest UEFA had branding and merchandising in mind when making the decision.
It will serve as a reminder of how the whole football family came together.
A large amount of merchandise was already made by the time Euro 2020 was postponed.
Furthermore, avoiding a vast amount of wasted items was also a major factor of consideration.
UEFA’s comment about its decision
UEFA confirmed in a statement: “This choice is in line with UEFA’s commitment to make UEFA Euro 2020 sustainable and not to generate additional amounts of waste.
“A lot of branded material had already been produced by the time of the tournament’s postponement.
“A name change for the event would have meant the destruction and reproduction of such items.”
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Additionally, UEFA has stuck with Euro 2020 over Euro 2021 as a form of commemoration of that difficult period.
A statement said: “It will furthermore serve as a reminder of how the whole football family came together to respond to the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, and of the difficult times that Europe, and the world, had to go through in 2020.”
BBC and ITV are calling it Euro 2020 not 2021 – and they’re right
It would be inaccurate for broadcasters to call the event Euro 2021.
The name Euro 2020 is not just an abbreviation of the championships’ full title and a date from the past.
It is a brand name, trademarked as such. Broadcasters are being completely accurate in referring to it as Euro 2020.
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