EURO 2020 kicks off Today, challenging COVID-19

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The UEFA European Football Championship, EURO 2020, will kick off today after being postponed for a little less than a year due to COVID-19. It will start on Friday, June 11, and end on Sunday, July 11. The 6th edition of the continental championship will have a live audience in varying proportions - between 25% and 100% - which sparked criticism among critics and fans due to the ongoing pandemic.

The current version of the championship is distinguished due to being held in 11 cities - after they were supposed to be 13 and then 12. The cities in which the championship will be held are Amsterdam of the Netherlands, Bucharest of Romania, Budapest of Hungary, Seville of Spain, Rome of Italy, London of England, Glasgow of Scotland, Baku of Azerbaijan, Munich of Germany, Saint Petersburg of Russia, and Copenhagen of Denmark.

The championship's medical advisor, Swiss physician Daniel Koch, believes that holding the championship in 11 cities is an 'advantage' in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, saying that every stadium can take all measures necessary to protect the health of the audience, stating that it's a 'priority' of UEFA's, who rejected holding any matches without a live audience. Koch underscored his optimism regarding the championship, calling on the fans to enjoy it, but to take precautions and respect the law at all times.

🧐 Guess the city!#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/8qQL9GDJyf

— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 10, 2021

EURO 2020 will witness the appearance of the video assistant referee (VAR) for the first time, three years after its global debut in the World Cup in Russia 2018. At a time when opinions are still divided about it and its effectiveness in reducing refereeing errors.

The Union of European Football Associations long objected to the idea of ​​the VAR in its continental competitions before eventually succumbing to media pressure and to the President of Fédération Internationale de Football Association Gianni Infantino, who was one of the most prominent advocates of using this tech.

24 teams will compete for the European title, divided into 6 groups.

Meet The Groups:

Group A: Turkey - Italy - Wales - Switzerland
Group B: Denmark - Finland - Belgium - Russia
Group C: Netherlands - Ukraine - Austria - North Macedonia
Group D: England - Croatia - Scotland - Czech Republic
Group E: Spain - Sweden - Poland - Slovakia
Group F: Hungary - Portugal - France - Germany 

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