In the past few years at the latest, the major football tournaments, i.e. European and World Cups, had developed into events that you could hardly pass by, even if you were not otherwise madly interested in football. They developed a pull that could hardly be escaped – from the sticker booklet to the evening public viewing.
The fact that last year the EM – like the Olympic Games in Japan – had to be canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic was inevitable and was of course accepted by the fans. And just a few weeks ago, when Europe was in the middle of the third wave, very few people thought of football.
Just on the couch
But unlike the Olympics, where at least in Japan there is a polarized debate as to whether the Games should take place in the summer, it was relatively clear that the EM will take place – even if in most countries one is busy with the easing to take it slowly after the lockdowns. And as a citizen you are busy finding your way back to a more or less normal life.
Even fans were still sitting on the couch a few weeks ago and watching league matches without a stadium audience on TV – and were still amazed at one or the other yelling of the support staff that could be heard at the ghost games without the stadium audience being whitewashed. The step into the old normal takes some getting used to. Until recently, it was also unclear whether there could be such a thing as public viewing events. This is now possible with the falling number of cases and with restrictions.
EM the frequent flyer without a center
But that’s not the only reason why the EM is different: Instead of a fixed host country, the games are spread across the continent in eleven cities. When the concept was presented several years ago, there was criticism, and in the midst of a pandemic, UEFA’s idea is even stranger.
Whether it really makes sense from a climate point of view to fly teams with their staff across Europe and to guide a large number of more fans across the continent to Baku in Azerbaijan is relatively easy to answer: no. This is also one of the big question marks for the mood. How the number of stadium visitors is dealt with differs from country to country – and in some cities this was unclear until recently.
Too much money involved?
Perhaps this is also one of the many signs that football, led by UEFA and FIFA, is increasingly risking developing from a mainstream popular cultural event into an elite event. The attempt to multiply the already existing fantasy amounts of the business was clearly shipwrecked with the plan of the Super League, a championship of the financially strongest and thus perhaps best clubs in Europe. Perhaps the super-commercialization of an already commercialized area – see also broadcasting rights and pay-TV – has reached its zenith.
No ÖFB euphoria like 2016
Perhaps the lack of EM mood so far is also due to a purely Austrian and the previous matches of the ÖFB team. At the 2016 European Championships in France, the euphoria and thus the expectations of the Austrian team was enormous. Under coach Marcel Koller, the team had convinced in the qualification and even raised international expectations. The elimination after poor performance in the preliminary round was a cold shower for all fans.
The current coach Franco Foda has done it differently: The last test games were disappointing, especially the tactically unclear, defensive and not very courageous game forward leaves doubters brooding. But maybe all of that will evaporate, and from the opening game on Friday and the encounter between Austria and North Macedonia on Sunday, a step towards “normality” will also be taken here.
