Good News, The UEFA Adds The Number Of Euro 2020 Squad To 26 Players

UEFA President Alexander Ceferin (Twitter @uefa)

JAKARTA - The UEFA is reportedly preparing to add the number of teams participating in EURO 2020 to 26 players, compared to the 23 players that usually apply.

The change in rules was taken to ease the burden on the players whose fatigue had accumulated because the start of the 2020/21 season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the schedule was tightened so that it could be completed in May, in order to give the Euro 2020 final round a chance to be held on 11 June-11 July.

The decision was made by the UEFA national team committee on Monday, April 26, and is scheduled to be endorsed by the executive committee this week, the BBC reported.

The coach of the Italian national team, Roberto Mancini, last month expressed his support for increasing the number of squads amidst the threat of contractions of COVID-19 and the difficulty of finding a replacement in the middle of the Euro 2020 tournament.

"Someone can catch the virus in a tournament. And it will be difficult to find a substitute because those who are not in the squad are usually on holiday", said Mancini.

Last month, the UEFA also confirmed that Euro 2020 will use regulation of five substitution slots.