UEFA 2020 Soccer Euro Cup Tournament

Although you won't know which country is playing which in the group stages until the draw (and obviously not at all for the later stages), you can see which venue is hosting a match on a particular day - for example starting at Rome on 12/06/20 through to London on 12/07/20. It seems you're not following any particular country, rather just want to attend some matches and don't have access to tickets through members system - so I agree you should register interest on the UEFA Euro2020 website (indeed the timeframe for joining the lottery closes in only a month or so - I'd get on with it quickly).

Dublin, Glasgow, London and Amsterdam give the best concentration of matches in the easiest travel area, perhaps. By contrast, I hadn't realised Baku was even in Europe - it would be a long journey to/from wherever else you are..

By contrast, I hadn't realised Baku was even in Europe

I don't think even the Azerbaijanis know whether they're in Europe or Asia however it is officially declared part of the European Southern Caucausus region. I quite fancy it, there's some nice looking resorts along the Caspian coast, the food and wine looks appealing and so does the cost. I tried to convince my wife for this summer but she opted for Montenegro instead.

By contrast, I hadn't realised Baku was even in Europe

UEFA includes a lot of "transcontinental" countries in its definition of Europe, usually either for financial or political reasons.

Perhaps I'm just a cynic when it comes to soccer's governing bodies, but I bet UEFA "adopted" Azerbaijan for its massive oil industry -- which UEFA executives will happily accept as bribes for putting Euro Cup matches in Baku.

Other debatable "European" members of UEFA include Israel (for obvious political reasons), Kazakhstan (likely also political), Turkey and Armenia.

Yes, you can bet there was some financial incentive for some people for Baku to be chosen as the host venue much like Qatar for the 2021 World Cup.

My husband and I had an incredible trip to France for the 2016 Euros. He is Spanish, so we "followed" the Spain team through the group stage and attended all 3 of their group stage games. We were unsuccessful in the lottery, and got tickets using viagogo. If you won't be following a particular team, I agree with previous poster who suggested mapping out a strategy in advance of the draw. Accomodation will be pricey in the host cities, so booking early is advisable, as the marquis teams will likely drive up the prices in some cities. The cities will have "fan zones" set up with giant screens, beer gardens, food vendors, souvenirs etc. Security will be tight in all cities, and probably tighter at games where England and Russia are playing. Whether or not you attend a game, being in the host city will be an amazing experience for your family. Pick a country, wear a jersey, join the hoardes in public squares and learn the songs. If you are in say, Bilbao but Spain is playing in say, Rome - head to the fan zone or any bar to watch the game. Happy to answer specific questions via pm.

Security will be tight in all cities, and probably tighter at games where England and Russia are playing.

Not sure if you mean when England and Russia play together or just in general whenever those teams are playing.

There's never been any particular rivalry between England and Russia. England had a problem with hooliganism in the 70's, 80's and early 90's but it's all been pretty much eradicated from the domestic game and very tight controls are placed on known hooligans when international matches are played with actions such as court orders for passport confiscation often being used.

There is a much bigger hooligan problem with countries such as Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Norway etc but the reputation has remained with England despite there no longer being a problem. The scenes witnessed in France in 2016 were caused by a hardcore 'team' of professional hooligans who were very organised and appeared to have been sent deliberately by Russia to cause disruption. Whilst the English fans were attacked much of the media twisted the account to suggest that the trouble was started by English hooligans however there is plenty of video footage on the internet to counter this suggestion. Other nationalities were attacked by the Russians but this didn't appear to make much headlines. No-one knows why the Russians did this.

To your question. I'm thinking of going too. Since you dont know who is playing, look at easy and cheap connections. Amsterdam - Munich - Budapest - Bucharest is probably under $250 in nonstop airfare. But book everything early cause prices will go up fast. I cant speak to the others, but in Budapest AirBnb's are cheap and many are very nice. I do know the place I stay will start the High Season prices a month early for the event. Of course you will have to match it with an affordable transatlantic Open Jaw flight.

My thought right now is off to Montenegro for a little fishing on the 5th, then on to Budapest around the 10th for the match on the 16th, then on to Bucharest on the 17th for the match on the 18th, then a bit of fishing in Romania and home on the 22nd. That gets me out of Europe before it gets too hot and keeps me in high country during some of it.

Some of these cities are much easier to travel between than others. You need a visa to get to Russia and obtaining it can be a headache. Baku is quite remote. Bucharest is just about the only place I've been in Europe that I wouldn't want to return to if I could help it. Everywhere else is lovely - Bilbao is particularly underrated, I only had one night there and wish I'd had at least 2 more for their lovely old city and amazing food scene.

Low-cost airfare carriers go between many of these cities and that will probably be your cheapest way of getting between them as they're all quite far from each other to travel by train. Airfares are usually cheapest 6 -12 weeks out, I usually buy my budget airline tickets 6-8 weeks out, but sometimes a little less. Pay attention to the location of airports, as budget airlines sometimes fly to tiny airports quite far away from the city they are supposedly in. If you pack light you'll be rewarded with cheaper fares - checking bags on budget airlines adds significantly to the cost. Staying in AirBnBs or other apartments may provide laundry facilities which help.

I'd say out of the cities listed the ones I have enjoyed the most are Budapest, Bilbao, Amsterdam, Munich, and Copenhagen. Budapest is the cheapest of those, with Copenhagen being the most expensive. Munich, Amsterdam, and Bilbao are comparable and all have great food scenes.

I haven't attended a tournament but keep in mind that most cities will have "public viewings" at pubs of other games which is great fun as well. In Germany, the larger biergartens often set up big screens to watch the game. If I'm still in Europe next summer I definately plan to attend an England match, because I think 2020 is when it's coming home!

. You need a visa to get to Russia and obtaining it can be a headache.

For the record: 2020 UEFA spectators will be visa-free, under a fan-id arrangement similar to the one they had for the World Cup last year.

Are you going to attend UEFA EURO matches in St. Petersburg?
It is necessary to issue a FAN ID after buying a ticket. FAN ID can be issued only if you have a ticket. The ticket number must be specified when applying on the website www.fan-id.ru

I didn't get a chance to buy tickets during the draw, is it safe to get tickets from resale sites such as this site: seatpick.com? I see that they already have tickets to the final rounds, they are not actually selling tickets but rather comparing sites, someone has any experience with them? prices are not cheap :0

Thanks.

The next round of ticket sales starts today, Dec 4.

The unfortunate thing is that you can not purchase tickets without a name and passport number for each ticket.

I remember when I went to the World Cup I went through the anguish of not knowing if I would be selected for tickets. I got lucky, I got tickets. Yeaaaaa, but when I got to the World Cup there were so many tickets for sale (official sales) that it was a bit ridiculous. I am going to hope that holds true again, because since I dont know who I will be traveling with, I cant buy tickets in advance; but I have the room for the game.....