Budapest, Sep 11 (IANS) The Hungarian Football Federation (HFF) has submitted a bid to become one of the venues for the 2020 European Championships.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, voicing support for the move at a joint news conference with Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) President Michel Platini, Tuesday said the games could be played at Puskas Stadium here, reports Xinhua.
There have been calls for changing the way the championships are organised, allowing 13 different countries to host the various group stages and Hungary hopes to be one of the 13.
UEFA will accept preliminary applications until Thursday and final applications until next April 25. The UEFA Executive Committee will decide on the winners a year from now in September.
Orban said that Puskas Stadium will be rebuilt before 2016. The current stadium was opened in 1953 and has been in regular use since that time.
Platini said he was happy that Budapest is bidding for the European Championships. He praised Hungary for programmes allowing young people to play under good conditions but warned that UEFA was introducing a programme of zero tolerance for racism. Hungary has been censured several times for racist behaviour by its fans.
