Baku football fever. Photo
The final stage of the European Football Championship in Baku has begun. Four matches of the tournament will take place in Baku. For the first time in the history of the Caucasus, the country hosts matches of one of the most prestigious football tournaments. The football fever has been hitting the capital of Azerbaijan for several days, as it is overwhelmed by the paraphernalia of the championship and tourists.
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The capital of Azerbaijan will host four matches – three group stage games, and one of the quarterfinals.
Despite the enormity of the event, Baku has not properly prepared itself to host such important football games. Until now, the central streets of the city are fenced off from the pedestrian part by partitions.
These partitions “guarded” the Azerbaijan Grand Prix track during the Formula 1 World Championship in “royal races” last week, and the organizers did not manage to clean up the city center after them.
All over the city, Euro 2020 posters hang on the streets. Although the European Championship is held in 2021, it is called Euros 2020 because it was postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Olympic stadium in Baku, where all four matches will take place, can accommodate about 70,000 spectators, but UEFA has only permitted 50% percent of the capacity to be used. Thus, a maximum of 35,000 spectators can attend each game in Baku. But for the first match between the national teams of Switzerland and Wales, only half of this quota was sold. Ticket prices also played a significant role in this. They cost from 60 to 250 manats [approximately $35.3 to $148].
JAMnews walked the streets of Baku just several hours before the start of the first match.
