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London the perfect choice for Euro 2020 climax – new UEFA president

Wembley Stadium will host the semi-finals and final of the tournament in July 2020 which, to mark the 60 anniversary of the competition, will be held in 13 cities from Spain to Russian Federation.

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The ceremony at London City Hall witnessed a first speech in office by new UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, who described England as the “mythical cradle of football” and spoke of his pleasure at being able to bring UEFA EURO 2020 to so many countries and cities.

The logo shows multicoloured fan silhouettes standing either side of the competition’s Henri Delaunay Trophy on a green bridge, representative of the links between the 13 host countries.

The remaining cities will launch their logos one by one at staged events over the coming weeks.

Although they will host the finals England are not guaranteed a place at the tournament – every one of Uefa’s 55 members will have to qualify, with the newly formed Nations League set to play a part in the awarding of the 24 places at the competition.

Before being elected last week, Ceferin had said the plan was a risk and would be hard for travelling fans.

Ceferin was accompanied by Greg Clarke, new chairman of England’s Football Association, and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, while England manager Sam Allardyce was also present.

“The tournament will be unique and memorable in a variety of ways”.

The national stadium last hosted the final of the European Championships in 1996, when Germany defeated the Czech Republic thanks to Oliver Bierhoff’s golden goal.

“London is a wonderful, vibrant multicultural city and an intense hotbed of football”.

“What better way could there be than to take the final tournament for one single occasion to all four corners of our continent?”, he added.

‘You can never say you’re going to win it because everybody else wants to win it too, ‘ he said.

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Prior to Euro 2020 Allardyce and his team will be looking to qualify for and succeed at the 2018 World Cup in Russian Federation, with qualifying for the continent-wide European Championships due to begin in September 2018.

LONDON ENGLAND- SEPTEMBER 21 UEFA President, Aleksander Ceferin and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan pose for the camera's during the UEFA EURO 2020 Launch Event at City Hall