A Manchester MP has heavily criticised the FA after the organisation failed to put forward either of the city’s renowned stadiums to host Euro 2020 matches.
South Manchester MP John Leech’s disapproval is down to the governing body only selecting Wembley as a possible venue whereas opposition nations that have bid for the tournament proposed up to four cities.
The reluctance to use Manchester’s sporting theatres reinforces the opinion that the FA has a London bias which is can be seen as ‘barmy’ considering the country’s top two clubs, Manchester City and United, are situated in Manchester.
MP Leech said: “I don’t accept that the FA could only put forward one venue. Spain, Portugal and Italy have put forward more than one.
“This just goes to show how London-centric the FA are, with the top two clubs in the league here in Manchester it is barmy the FA haven’t even considered us.
“Both Old Trafford and the City of Manchester Stadium are fully geared up to host international games and have done so already.”
Old Trafford hosted 12 international games between the demolition of the ‘old’ Wembley in 2003 and the opening of ‘new’ Wembley in 2007.
The Theatre of Dreams has already been tested as an international arena as has the Etihad with both hosting England games which provided a great atmosphere to watch the beautiful game.
In 2015 Old Trafford and the Etihad will host Rugby World Cup action which proves that both grounds are trusted of hosting championship sport.
Leech added: “Both Manchester clubs are hosting Rugby World Cup games of both codes with Old Trafford hosting the Rugby League World Cup final this year it is a real shame the FA have the blinkers on yet again.”
The FA will receive heavy criticism if they do not acquire permission to host Euro 2020 as the infrastructure to host the tournament is already in place.
Picture courtesy of Whouk via WikiCommons, with thanks.
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook.
