Dublin’s Aviva Stadium is set to host four games of the 2020 European Championships.
In case you’ve not heard, Uefa have decided to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the tournament by allowing 13 different cities across the continent to host a number of fixtures.
It was announced back in September 2014 that Ireland were successful in their bid to host some games during the tournament.
The FAI, Dublin City Council and Uefa co-hosted an event in Dublin on Thursday morning to promote the achievement and to unveil the official logo for Dublin 2020.
We are here at the launch of #Dublin2020! Dublin's logo for #EURO2020 soon to be unveiled! pic.twitter.com/YIUTbb5DIh
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 24, 2016
The logo, which you can see at the end of what seems like a Wes Anderson inspired animation below, contains the Samuel Beckett Bridge at its core. This is in line with Uefa’s brand theme of city bridges.
BREAKING: The #Dublin2020 logo for the four #EURO2020 games to take place in Dublin has been revealed! pic.twitter.com/TlHMPIOIMn
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) November 24, 2016
Dublin will host three group fixtures at the ‘Dublin Stadium’ (Cannot be referred to as ‘Aviva’ due to Uefa regulations), in addition to one Round of 16 game.
However, what will be most exciting for Irish fans is that if our boys in green qualify for the tournament, two of the group matches are guaranteed to be held at Lansdowne Road.
What a thank you this would be to all the fans who have travelled to the far corners of Europe during our qualification campaigns.
Fan Zones
Fan Zones, which have proved hugely popular at Euro 2016 and even during the Rugby World Cup in 2015, will be making an appearance in Dublin when the games are hosted here.
In fact, these won’t solely be confined to Dublin, other cities in the country are expected to entertain the idea in order to make the most of this experience.
Team Bases
Team bases are also expected to be located outside of Dublin.
The Regional Football Centre of Excellence in Glanmire, Cork is expected to be a location for teams to set up shop before they play their fixtures.
Street Football
The promotion of street and community football is one of the main legacies which the FAI want to leave in the aftermath of this tournament.
This will be spearheaded by former Republic of Ireland captain and record goalscorer, Robbie Keane, who will head up Dublin’s Legacy Euro 2020 campaign.
The campaign will build on street football with the ultimate goal of getting more boys and girls out playing football in their communities.
Dunphy would approve https://t.co/yvwicoN4u1
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 24, 2016
Qualification for the tournament is still some way away as we are currently in the midst of a campaign to get to the World Cup in Russia.
Either way, we fully expect this to be a memorable occasion.
Dick Clerkin makes his GAA Hour debut to talk about a wonderful career and argue passionately with Colm Parkinson over Sky Sports GAA. Subscribe here on iTunes.
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