The Business of the Euro 2020 – The Tournament Behind the Scenes
Euro 2020 has whipped the entire continent of Europe into a footballing frenzy, with fans coming together to watch and cheer on their national team. Unlike in other years, Euro 2020 is being hosted across the continent, creating a different dynamic that could also see some interesting results. For fans betting on the tournament, this format could present an intriguing opportunity as several of the main contenders, including Germany and England, will be playing at least some of their games at home, a factor that can give teams an advantage.
From London to Lisbon and from Baku to Brussels, football fans will be gathering together to watch at home, sports bars, dedicated fan zones, and just about anywhere else with a screen to cheer on their team.
However, few fans will give much of a thought to the business that goes on behind the scenes during a competition like Euro 2020. Yet, an army of thousands of people will be working flat out over the entire month of the tournament to make sure that it runs smoothly and everyone involved has a great time. They’ll also be working to ensure that the competition has a positive effect on the host cities for years afterwards.
Here is what some of these people are involved in.
Broadcasting
Without online streaming and television, only a few million people would be able to watch the Euro 2020 games this year. That sounds like a lot, but actually, around two billion watched the European Championship in 2016, so nearly one-third of the entire world would be unable to watch despite wanting to.
UEFA has contracts with broadcasting companies in just about every country and territory on the planet, covering everywhere from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Not only that, but it’s signed an agreement with IMG In-Flight so that you can even watch Euro 2020 games while flying 30,000 feet in the air or out sailing in the middle of an ocean.
These contracts are only part of the work though; broadcasters only do the final delivery to fans’ television sets. UEFA and some of its partners remain responsible for filming the action from within the stadiums, adding fancy on-screen graphics to help fans understand what’s going on, and beaming it around the world to each broadcaster.
This is a huge operation with more than 3,000 people involved over the month of the competition. UEFA has also rented a giant convention centre in the Netherlands to use as a central hub of global broadcast operations.
Huge underground fibreoptic cables run between the convention centre and each stadium, helping to ensure a smooth connection with no interruptions. However, as a backup, there are also satellite systems ready at each stadium just in case.
Finance
Professional football players in the top flight leagues are usually paid huge sums by their clubs. For example, Lionel Messi, who is the highest earner in the sport, reportedly receives $130 million each year, while in the Premier League, the average player now earns more than £50,000 a week.
The same sums aren’t dished out at an international level. According to the BBC, each player in the England squad receives a payment of £2,000 per appearance, though it is also reported that they have all donated each payment to charity since 2007.
In 2018, the English FA reportedly offered a £5 million bonus to the team if they won the World Cup. Most other countries are believed to offer bonuses to their players too. It is, therefore, reasonable to assume something similar is on offer in 2021.
For players, they don’t take part for the money (at least not the appearance money). They want to represent their country on the world stage and, hopefully, win. Former England captain, Emlyn Hughes, once said he would pay to play for the team, a sentiment that is shared among most footballers.
Players do earn money from their own personal sponsors though, which can be worth significantly more than any appearance fees.
UEFA also signs deals with major international brands for sponsorship of the European Championship and its other tournaments. It is believed that the confederation receives around €500 million from its sponsors, with a further €1 billion coming from television rights deals and €400 million in ticket sales.
A large pot of this money is handed out to the teams. The total purse is believed to be around £284 million, with each team taking part receiving around £8 million, with more being awarded for success in games and progression through the knockout stages.
Boost for Local Business
In addition to the money that will be made by UEFA and the nations taking part, Euro 2020 is likely to be a boon for businesses that are in the host cities. In 2016, the European Championship is reported to have added €1.22 billion to the French economy, with around half of that coming from tourism.
2.4 million fans attended matches in France, 613,000 of whom came from abroad, all spending an average of €154 a day.
Things are very different in 2021, not least because it isn’t a single country hosting the tournament. This means any economic benefits from the tournament will be distributed across the continent, something that UEFA officials likely intended to achieve when they approved the idea.
For some host cities, it will help them to gain more international recognition and exposure, with hope that it could attract more tourists in the future. Again in 2016, French businesses saw longer term economic benefits with more domestic and international visitors coming to explore after the event had finished.
Travel companies like airlines are also hoping to cash in, especially in the final stages of the competition as fans flock to see their teams taking part. Partnerships with companies like Booking.com are examples of UEFA’s thinking in this regard.
To Sum Up
Euro 2020 is a festival of football that attracts 2 billion viewers every four years. It’s also much more than that too. It’s a huge logistics operation, a business that generates billions in revenue for its organisers, and a boon to local economies.
