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Copenhagen’s Euro 2020 matches to go ahead with fans

Danish Culture Minister Joy Mogensen has confirmed that Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium will be able to welcome at least 11,000 fans for matches at this summer’s UEFA European Championships.

Parken Stadium, home of Danish Superliga club FC Copenhagen, has a capacity of 38,000 and is due to host four matches at the rescheduled Euro 2020.

The tournament is due to be held in 12 cities across Europe and host associations have been given until early April to submit fan attendance plans to UEFA. Mogensen is hopeful that Parken Stadium can open at around a third of its capacity when it stages Denmark’s three group-stage matches and a round of 16 fixture.

Mogensen said the attendance cap could be increased depending on the COVID-19 situation in Denmark in the summer.

“The European Football Championship is a unique and historic event in Denmark,” Mogensen said in a statement. “The government has therefore decided to allow at least 11,000-12,000 spectators for the four matches held in the Park.”

The announcement has been welcomed by Danish Football Association (DBU) chief executive Jakob Jensen, who said: “We are very pleased that the government is reporting back in good time with a positive signal to get fans in the stadium for the European Championships. It is a big and very important step to have a football party and to feel the community in the Park and throughout Denmark this summer.”

An expert group has been set up to assess the exact fan attendance but Mogensen stressed that it “may be necessary” to play matches behind closed doors if COVID-19 infection rates rise. The government has informed the DBU and UEFA of this possibility.

Denmark has been drawn in Group B alongside Finland, Belgium and Russia. Copenhagen will host Denmark’s matches against Russia on June 12, Belgium on June 17 and Russia on June 21, before staging a knockout match on June 28.

As well as Copenhagen, Euro 2020 games are due to be held in London, Glasgow, Dublin, Bilbao, Amsterdam, Munich, Rome, Budapest, Bucharest, Saint Petersburg and Baku.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Bilbao, Dublin and Glasgow were at risk of losing hosting rights amid uncertainty over whether fans will be able to attend games. UEFA has insisted that it remains committed to staging the tournament across 12 cities.

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