Why are the European Championships called Euro 2020 and not Euro 2021?
Sign up to our email updates Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign Up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice  Europes continental competition will begin after a year long delay in Romes Stadio Olimpico with Italy taking on Turkey this Friday evening at 8pm. The event hosted by eleven cities across Europe including Glasgow and London was due to take place last year. However, Covid-19 meant UEFA were forced to delay the tournament by a year in order to ensure the safety of everyone participating in the event. But while the date has changed, the name still remains Euro 2020. UEFA have decided to continue to call the tournament Euro 2020 and not Euro 2021 for a few reasons. The organisations official explanation was along the lines of: to keep the vision of the competition.  Though, there have been other pressing concerns too. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the shores of Europe, UEFA had already prepared and manufactured a multitude of merchandising well in advance of the tournament with the original Euro 2020 logo on it. In order to save sending all the Euro 2020 merchandise to waste or to make them into rare collector items, it makes sense to stick with the original Euro 2020 name. Sign up for football.london's club newsletters In each football.london bulletin, we'll bring you the latest breaking news, transfer features and comment pieces on your favourite club, as well as the key talking points for fans. You won't miss a thing - you'll get all the news you need right to your inbox. We'll also send special newsletters when big stories break or there's a special event happening. You can sign up for Arsenal updates here. You can sign up for Chelsea updates here. You can sign up for Tottenham updates here. You can sign up for West Ham updates here. Even if it may cause some confusion. Changing the name would have been a costly endeavour for UEFA, who confirmed this in an official statement: This choice is in line with UEFAs 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 tournaments postponement. A name change for the event would have meant the destruction and reproduction of such items.  Whether its Euro 2020 or Euro 2021, the name will have no bearing on what promises to be an exciting tournament ahead.