Euro 2020: Seville to replace Bilbao as Spanish host city

The Spanish venue hosting matches in this summer’s European Championships are set to switch from San Mames – the home of Athletic Bilbao – to the Cartuja stadium in Seville.

That is according to a report in Diario AS, who say that the news will be confirmed by the organisation on Monday.

UEFA is demanding a capacity of 25 percent for stadiums at the tournament but the Basque government said that for that to be matched, 60 percent of the population would need to be vaccinated and fewer than 40 per 100,000 inhabitants be infected – two ambitious projections.

Now, the Spanish FA are set to propose Seville’s Cartuja stadium – which does not have a host team and has staged multiple Spain internationals and Copa del Rey finals in recent years.

Spain’s fixtures against Poland, Sweden and Slovakia are all due to be held in Bilbao this summer.

It has never been the natural home for the Spain national team due to many locals identifying as Basque rather than Spanish and even supporting the idea of an independent Basque Country.

A recent report in Marca outlined how the city council (the most important voice), the Basque Government, the Provincial Council and Athletic themselves were all sceptical of the stadium hosting matches this summer.

La Liga - Club News