Sports
UEFA is considering increasing squad sizes for this summer’s European Championship in Germany to 26 players following talks with coaches.
Discussions with international bosses whose teams had qualified for Euro 2024 were held in Dusseldorf on Monday.
“Uefa has taken note of the various opinions and points of view shared,” said a statement from European football’s governing body
“A final decision will be made in the coming weeks.”
The subject was discussed as part of a wider two-day workshop for finalists, and now goes to Uefa’s national team competitions committee then its executive committee.
Squads are currently limited to 23 players, a return to the regulations used prior to Euro 2020. For that tournament, three further players were allowed to mitigate against the impact of potential Covid outbreaks in the squad.
Uefa’s statement added: “The positive discussions highlighted different points of view among coaches, with some expressing a desire to increase the squad size. Others stated their preference to cap the squad size at 23, pointing out the difficulty in training with additional players, group management and the increased financial burdens placed upon national associations.”
England boss Gareth Southgate had previously been in favour of 23-man squads but recently spoke of a preference for three extra players to cope with a demanding end to a domestic season “complicated” by personnel returning from long-term injuries.
The FA Cup, Europa League and Champions League finals are all to be played after Southgate names his 26-man provisional squad on 21 May, with many of his players likely to be involved in those matches and England then have two more friendlies in June.
End-of-season timeline
19 May: Premier League final day
21 May: Southgate names provisional Euro 2024 squad
22 May: Europa League final
25 May: FA Cup final
1 June: Champions League final
3 June: England v Iceland
7 June: England v Bosnia-Herzegovina
7 June (late): Deadline for final Euros squad submitted to Uefa
14 June: Euros starts
16 June: England v Serbia (20:00 BST)
BBC
9th April, 2024.
C.E.
Tags: UEFA
