Israel offers to host Champions League and Euro 2020 games

Lausanne, Feb 17, 2021 (AFP) - Israel has offered to host Champions League and Euro 2020 matches if the COVID-19 pandemic forces them to be moved from other countries.

The Israeli proposal follows the moving of several Champions League matches from Germany and Spain to Hungary, Romania and other countries as a result of coronavirus restrictions on travel.

Israel Football Association's top officials spoke with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin last week "about the possibility of hosting some of the Euro 2020 games in Israel, as well as the crucial stages of Champions League and Europa League games," a spokesman for the association said on Wednesday.

A UEFA spokesman said, however, it was currently aiming to hold all of its competitions "in the cities that have already been chosen and is working hard with its partners and stakeholders to ensure that happens."

UEFA insists it is sticking to its original plan of playing Euro 2020, delayed a year because of the pandemic, in 12 host cities spread across Europe despite the logistical and sanitary challenges.

Israel is the global leader in COVID vaccinations per capita. On Tuesday, the country of about nine million people delivered a shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to its four millionth citizen.