The leaders meeting of the Group of Seven nations in Cornwall, England, may be the focal point of geopolitical activity in Europe. The main battles, though, began last Friday afternoon in Rome.
In the first match of the UEFA European men's soccer championships, Italy took on Turkey, with the Azzuris emerging 3 – 0 winners. Other matches follow, and you can check out the
sports betting odds on for different markets as offered by Vwin, the top Vietnamese betting company giving fans the opportunity to bet on all 49 Euro 2020 matches.
The Euros are perhaps the sport's second-most popular international competition behind the
FIFA World Cup. This year's edition, still called Euro 2020 by its organizers in honour of the date it was intended to be held, is being promoted as a sort of coming-out celebration for the continent after months of pandemic-induced stagnation.
“It will be the perfect opportunity to show the world that Europe is adapting. Europe is alive and celebrating life. Europe is back.” Said Aleksander Ceferin, the UEFA president.
There's still a lot that could go wrong. The event will take place in 11 different cities across 11 different countries. Because many of the participants have not yet been vaccinated, maintaining Covid-safe bubbles will be problematic. The maximum number of people that can attend will vary per country. Outside of the venues, spectators and journalists will travel across communities with varied levels of coronavirus exposure and immunological resistance.
The epidemic has already thrown a pall on the situation. Positive tests for many teams, including Spain and Sweden, have thrown preparations into disarray. Even while larger populations wait for their initial shots, national soccer bodies from several participating tournaments are attempting to expedite immunizations for its players.
Today's WorldView, on the other hand, is focused on other
Euro 2020 storylines.
Taking the knee
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick popularized the gesture of "
taking a knee" as part of his often-lonely struggle against systemic racism and police violence. In the United States, Kaepernick's action became a divisive one, inflaming right-wing sentiment. However, in a strange twist of our interlinked world, his protest has perhaps become considerably more popular in the United Kingdom.
After last summer's Black Lives Matter protests made their way over the Atlantic, it became common practice for English Premier League players to get down on one knee before games.
Other European national teams, particularly those with players of African origin in their ranks, have continued the tradition, as did England's youthful, talented, and diverse team.
However, like their American counterparts, some right-leaning English supporters are against the gesture. As Ireland played Hungary in a recent friendly in Budapest, Hungarian supporters jeered when the Irish squad took the knee.
Viktor Orban, Hungary's right-wing prime minister, described the demonstrations as a phenomena associated with "slave-owning countries," saying they had "no place on the sports field" and had nothing to do with his own country.
“Looking at it from our cultural point of view, it’s an incomprehensible thing, a provocation,”
Orban said.
Meanwhile, black athletes allege that the hatred directed at them across the continent, particularly in Eastern and Central Europe, is only becoming worse.
“I think racism in sports right now is at the all-time high,” said Belgian and Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku. Speaking to CNN, Lukaku implied that the unregulated spread of hate on social media was partially to blame.