Football: Euro 2020 set for postponement after Uefa cancels hotel bookings in one of 12 host cities Copenhagen

A postponement of Euro 2020 to 2021 is expected to be announced following the widespread suspension of Europe's domestic leagues owing to the coronavirus. PHOTO: REUTERS

COPENHAGEN (REUTERS) - The postponement of football's 2020 European Championship may already have been decided after Uefa last week cancelled its hotel bookings in Copenhagen, one of the host cities, Reuters learnt from the hotels on Tuesday (March 17).

The CPH Hotel told Reuters over the phone that the continental governing body had booked 80 of its 102 rooms but cancelled them a little over a week ago. The Marienlyst Strandhotel, where the Danish team usually base themselves, told Reuters in an email that Uefa had cancelled the rooms booked on behalf of the Danish side.

Uefa is meeting with its member federations on Tuesday, where a postponement of Euro 2020 to 2021 is expected to be announced following the widespread suspension of Europe's domestic leagues owing to the coronavirus.

The tournament was due to be held across 12 nations in June and July, with the semi-finals and final in London. Copenhagen was due to host three group games, all involving Denmark, and one knockout match in the round of 16.

The Marienlyst Strandhotel in Helsingor has been the base of the Danish team for many years and is situated on the sound between Denmark and Sweden, some 47km north of Copenhagen.

Helsingor - or Elsinore as it is sometimes called in English - is the scene of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The sleepy village has become the place that the Danish team go to avoid distractions, with a training pitch a short walk away.

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