Monday 10 December 2012

Platini's flight of fancy

"C'est une superbe idee, Michel" Platini has attracted endless accolades for his brilliantly inventive plan to split the responsibility for hosting the Euro Championship in 2020 to a range of cities across a handful of countries. Nobody can accuse UEFA's President of lacking imagination. Courage, mon brave.

But why stop there? Let's go one step further and let's get really radical. I think we should go the whole hog and have each half in a different venue. Imagine the fun to be had when you not only announce  how many added minutes there are going to be at the end of the first half but also where the second half is going to be played.

Watch the teams race off at the whistle to check their travel arrangements and their Air Miles account.
It may be hammering it down in the first 45 minutes in Riga only to be switched to glorious sunshine on the Algarve. The acid test for any team is surely being able to win the game in two different countries.

What about the fans, you may ask. Well, they could be down and out in both Paris and London within the space of a match. Also what a way to boost the ailing European economy. This plan is multi-dimensional and just gets better and better.

An Orwellian dream or a Platini nightmare?