Bilbao sees its role as one of the venues of the European Championship in jeopardy

A man with a mask passes in front of the San Mamés stadium in the Basque city of Bilbao, northern Spain, March 16, 2020. Image taken on March 16, 2020.

Bilbao’s bid to host postponed Eurocup matches looks increasingly dubious due to the regional government’s strategy on COVID-19 restrictions and its reluctance to commit to allowing spectators to attend matches .

Athletic Bilbao’s San Mamés stadium was supposed to host three group stage matches and one round of 16 match, but must present a plan to UEFA before April 7, informing the organizers of the a strategy to receive fans.

UEFA will then make a decision on the suitability of the venues and the expected capacity.

Spectator entry is not a prerequisite for hosting matches, and UEFA has said it remains committed to using the same 12 venues planned before the tournament was postponed due to the pandemic. However, President Aleksander Ceferin has underlined the importance of fan attendance.

The presence of fans is also key for the tournament to be a financial success: UEFA received 400 million euros (475.72 million dollars) from ticket sales and hospitality for Euro 2016, just over a fifth of total revenues, which amounted to 1.93 billion euros.

The tournament’s health advisor told Reuters that stadiums for this year’s tournament could be at more than 30% capacity.

UEFA’s stance appears to be at odds with the Basque regional government, which plans to maintain its strict coronavirus restrictions until June.

The regional government’s strategy allows a maximum of 1,200 spectators in outdoor venues in the best of cases, when regional infections are less than 60 per 100,000 people. New cases stood at 201 per 100,000 on Wednesday.

The Basque Government said that it expects the matches to be held in Bilbao, while stressing that “everything depends on the evolution of the pandemic.”

“No one will oppose the presence of fans if the health situation allows it,” said his statement. “With three months to go, we have to be cautious, but we will continue working (…) to see if the Euro 2020 matches can be held with fans, how many and under what conditions.”

UEFA declined to comment on whether Bilbao could lose host rights.