FA to bid for Euro 2020 opener at Wembley
The Football Association will bid to stage the opening game of UEFA Euro 2020 at Wembley, general secretary Alex Horne has confirmed.
Rather than being held in one or two countries, the event in six years' time will be staged in 13 cities across a number of European nations.
Horne confirmed that the FA, who have already declared an interest in hosting the final at Wembley, are keen to stage the competition's curtain-raiser at the national stadium.
"On the basis that someone needs to stand up, we have done it," Horne told The Times.
"It's a big game, the opening game. It would be great for London, for Wembley.
"I pushed it to UEFA, quietly at the moment, but we are going to make a play for it with our bid."
Formal bid dossiers will be submitted by prospective hosts ahead of the April 25 deadline, with evaluations and potential site visits carried out by UEFA between May and August.
UEFA's Executive Committee will then decide on locations in September.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
‘Milan didn’t collapse against Liverpool in Istanbul. We lost focus for six minutes – for the other 114, we played an extraordinary, beautiful game’: AC legend claims they were 'extraordinary' against Reds in 2005 Champions League final
‘Charlton could have qualified for Europe, but selling Scott Parker to Chelsea made the difference. The manager didn’t want him to go and there was a disagreement’: Former Addicks star highlights key reason why they failed to maintain 2003/04 form