Yeah, Netherlands and England probably benefit the most. Though wasn't Harry Kane expected to return well before June?
By the way, my prediction is that EC2021/Olympics2021 is also a pipe dream, as is the CL/EL new season. Given that a vaccin is fast on the market if it takes a year, it's illusionist to expect it to go faster now. Anyway a vaccin being available in december (keep on dreaming) would first need a moth or two to produce for Europe and more for a global coverage. That's assuming the vaccin beats the timeline by 4-5 months.
A Vaccine will take a long time, but things will get better before they need a vaccine. Look at China, it is mostly recovered and back to normal now.
No doubt. I miss it, too. But not to the extent that I’ll believe everything the Chinese government is telling the public.
I formed the very same view point as you over the past few days but hesitated to post it here for fear of being branded a doom monger. So thank you for being bold enough to post first. Unless some sort of minor miracle with the formation, production and distribution of a vaccine takes place over the next few months it's hard to envision how there could be enough people Worldwide vaccinated or otherwise naturally immune for the Euros to go ahead in 2021. Believe me, as a ticket holder it gives me no pleasure to say that.
I'm no expect, but without a vaccine there seems to be at least 3 other ways the situation could get much better: herd immunity, wide-scale fast testing and/or effective treatment for those testing positive. Herd immunity would bring things back to normal, but it seems a long way off. The other 2 seem more feasible in the medium-term. South Korea and Iceland have already done wide-scale testing. I guess this virus caught the rest of the world with their pants down, but surely all other advanced nations are working on this by now(?)
Likewise, I'm no expert. But I fear the mass testing theory might be a massive red herring. An article on CNN yesterday stated fewer than 1% of Iceland's tests came back positive for the virus. South Korea, which has led the World in testing has a positive test rate in the region of 3% If those figures are any indication of where we're going you could spend a fortune mass testing the World's population only to find out that the vast majority of people still need to stay at home and self-isolate until they find a vaccine or treatment. If these figures are anything to go by, my friends, it pains me to say it but we're not going to have a Euros next year. Unless they decide to take the plunge and play it behind closed doors?
Guys, viruses mutate after a while. Even if there is no vaccine sooner later like in October or so, I'd think it would die itself out or mutate into something else. Do any of you remember the Swine Flu? It wasn't as serious as this, but it was still a pandemic and affected a lot of people. But by 2010 it really just started to mutate and while it still exists, it's not an issue anymore. Countries even cancelled orders for swine flu vaccine.
The key is to separate what is going to happen from what could happen. There is no doubt in my mind the Euros happen in 2021 along with other major leagues and tournaments. The real question is will fans be in the stands or will it be behind closed doors. Way to much economic impact to think there will be no soccer for the next 6-12 months.
But recall that initially the reason Euro 2020 was postponed was to give time for the domestic leagues to finish their seasons. At that time, most people felt/hoped that football would only be suspended for a few weeks. If the 2020/21 domestic league seasons can't start on time we are going to run into the same problem for Euro 2021. So unfortunately we don't even have to reach the point of no soccer for the next 6-12 months. Euro 2021 is more vulnerable than that.
Euro 2021 isn’t a foregone conclusion by any means. The season will be delayed and there may be second or third waves of covod19. Also, they were planning on hosting the tournament across 12 countries which makes it even more unlikely to happen. I predict that we don’t see a major tournament until Qatar 2022. The next euros will be in 2024, which will be held in Germany. there is no need to host a euro cup right now , Portugal won 2016 and the nations league and that’s enough to say who is the champion for the time being. Football should only be played when it is safe to do so.
I sense some Portuguese bias here. The fact that you say all this as a Portugal fan, makes me suspicious.
All he said is/will be probably true, except the implication that Copa America is not a major tournament.
Yes but I doubt that will happen. Euro 2021 will take place. I mean guys the coronavirus is not a long term issue. Italy was the worst country hit, and it is already so much better now. Cases are decreasing, deaths decreasing day by day. Things will likely start reopening gradually in Italy in about a month from now. I expect by July or August, Italy will be all but back to normal. I'm talking Italy specifically. Many other countries are maybe a month behind Italy, but they will all be back to normal sooner later and well before 2021. I expect maybe next season might start behind closed doors in some countries for the first 1-2 months and then fans will come back again.
I forgot about it, it is a major tournament in my books. Has it been cancelled ? I am a part time scout (hoping to become full time and get a job with a prominent club) and I also coach. I was hoping to plan a trip to do some scouting in South America, possibly Brazil.
I think Copa 2021 has a very good chance of happening. Better chance that Euro 2021. Mainly because Copa is the middle of the footballing season, so there isn't a need to finish up domestic tournaments and the Copa Libertadores before the Copa America can be kicked-off. @Mean Machine : again its not whether football starts before 2021. In Europe, it probably has to be in full-swing by September otherwise it won't be possible to finish the CL and domestic leagues by end of May/before the Euros.
Surely the club season could be modified/shortened slightly to make room for the more important international tournament? Skip all domestic cups for a season, have teams play either once instead of twice, etc, perhaps even consider using a streamlined format for CL/EL for a season (one-leg ties, etc.).