Andy Simons is a very soft-spoken person and the same counts for Andreas Schaer while Chris Bryant talks with a lot of élan.
The trio discusses extensively the upcoming sporting spectacle – EURO 2028 – which is scheduled to be held in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland – and touches on EURO 2024 which was held in Germany from June 14th-July 14th.
Andreas Schaer is the Managing Director, Tournament Operations, UEFA, Switzerland. He is responsible for delivering UEFA’s National Team Football Tournaments – Men and Women, professionals, youth and amateurs – with the main focus on EURO 2028 scheduled to be held in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Chris Bryant is the Director of Tournaments and Events at The FA and is responsible for the planning and delivery of major events awarded to The Football Association by the UEFA.
Andy Simons is a Founder Director of KSS, a UK-based firm specializing in sports architecture and design and he is a major creative force within the practice giving lead design direction on a number of KSS’ major projects.
In an engaging discourse exclusively for ‘Coliseum’, Andreas Schaer, MD, Tournament Operations, UEFA, Switzerland, and Chris Bryant, Director, Tournaments and Events, The FA, UK, tells Andy Simons, Founding Director, KSS, UK, about the “massive operation” EURO 2028 and how they are talking to all the stakeholders to contribute so as to provide the fans an enthralling experience. The trio also talks about a Special Purpose Vehicle being set up and the tickets which are not wallet-friendly at all and Schaer states, “And a lesson for the future is in a post-COVID world is how we can offer seamless and stress-free travel to the fans so that they feel less stressed at the venue for the upcoming soccer show in the United Kingdom.”
UEFA
Nyon (Switzerland)-based the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan as well as the West Asian countries of Cyprus, Armenia and Israel. The UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Since 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.
UEFA EURO 2028
The 2028 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Men’s European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA EURO 2028, will be the 18th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international football championship. It will be co-hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland and is scheduled to take place from June 9th-July 9th, 2028.
Chris Bryant informs that they have “set up a Special Purpose Vehicle for EURO 2028, a separate company. They will be on the Board of the company involved and the delivery of the Special Purpose Vehicle they run and deliver all of the operations working with the UEFA, of course.”
Andy Simons quizzes about the transport angle and by the time 2028 approaches there will be a 10 Euro entry charge to which Bryant replies, “That is not one of the things we are looking to and I think we have to look at the delivery of this event where we are as a country, the strain on public funding and I think you have to kind of look at it from an affordability perspective and then you have got high-price tickets, low-price tickets, funds relating to travel, and not an eradicated move out and funds will have to be mobilized as the fans enter the United Kingdom for the events. In 2028, we are looking for reliable public transport, affordable public transport so that it meets the requirements of the event.”
Andreas Schaer informed that they are looking at the venues and “things are a bit challenging”.
Bryant further informed Simons that alcohol is a strict “no-no” in the event and the fans will be provided an ethereal experience sans alcohol too – “We have got laws and legislations. The UEFA event is significant and I don’t think as a country the United Kingdom is looking to change that. The rules on alcohol are for a particular fixture for all the football matches in this country – from the pavilion to the concourse to the Bowl. I don’t know that is something we want to prioritize for the tournament. We still think that we can provide fantastic experience to the fans.”
Simons touched on the topic of safe standing which he termed as an “effective tool” and Schaer pointed out that they have done that in Germany “each of the teams get 20,000 tickets for the P&A supporters and even those who have safe standing they don’t need that and there are going to be huge supporters for the football supporters of Europe but the UEFA says they are going to stand on the carpet and how do we give them an equal treatment is what matters.”
Wrap-up
Andreas Schaer, Chris Bryant and Andy Simons are all perked up for EURO 2028 despite myriad challenges in lead-up to the event. Their grit and determination speaks volumes as to the team involved is firm on delivering an outstanding event and are pulling out all stops to make it a smashing success and seamless. A nose-to-the-grindstone affair, indeed! And, of course, they will take forward lessons learnt from EURO 2024 to EURO 2028.
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