The FA Chairman travelled to Geneva on Thursday night – along with general secretary Alex Horne and England manager Roy Hodgson – in preparation for Friday’s announcement of which nations will host matches in UEFA’s EURO for Europe in six years’ time.
Wembley Stadium is in a two-horse race to host the tournament’s thrilling three-game finale, with Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena the other contender.
Dyke said: “EURO 2020 is a different sort of tournament because it is being played all over Europe.
FA Chairman Greg Dyke at Wembley
“We have bid for the semi-finals and the final. We are down to two between us and Germany. Munich is a great stadium but I think we feel that we have got a pretty good chance.”
Wembley has a strong pedigree when it comes to showpiece finals, hosting the 2011 and 2013 Champions League Finals, as well as six European Cup finals prior to the stadium being demolished and rebuilt between 2003-07.
And then there was the time when football came home in 1996, and Wembley hosted five European Championship matches, including England’s heartbreaking semi-final defeat and Germany’s final victory over Czech Republic.
Dyke says the stadium’s pedigree speaks for itself.
“It is a great stadium. It holds a lot of people, you can dress it up to be very exciting,” he said.
“I think everyone thinks that Wembley is one of the great stadiums of the world now. It is an exciting place to be and it is being used for all sorts of things.
“The two Champions League finals there have been a great success so I think UEFA, if it comes to Wembley, will be very happy.”
“Hosting the EURO final would be great for English football... It would be even better if England can reach at least the semi-finals”
Greg Dyke FA Chairman
Dyke cast his mind back to the galvanising effect England’s run to the final four in 1996, before considering what a successful bid for Euro 2020 could do for football in this country.
“It would be great for English football. It would be even better if England can reach at least the semi-finals.
“That’s the aim. Well, the aim is to win it but let’s try and get to the semi-finals.”
The FA Chairman then raised the possibility of a bid to host the 2028 European Championship in its entirety.
“I think if we get the final for 2020 it is unlikely we would be awarded 2024 so we won’t bid for that if we get the final,” he said.
“We might well bid for 2028. We will bid again for the World Cup at some stage but I wouldn’t be as optimistic of our chances as I would be for the EUROs.”
Follow @FA and @wembleystadium on Twitter for live updates on the bid to host the UEFA EURO 2020 semi-finals and final.
