Teams at this summer’s men’s European Championship in Germany are set to be allowed to name squads of up to 26 players instead of 23.
UEFA had said it was considering the proposal during last month’s international break, with some national team coaches expressing their desire to see squad sizes increased over the fortnight. Earlier this month, the proposal was discussed at a workshop of national team head coaches in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The decision has not yet been confirmed by UEFA but that is expected to come following a meeting of its Executive Committee later this week. The deadline for teams to submit their squads is June 7, a week before the opening game of the tournament.
Following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which saw football paused for several months and added a great burden to the calendar for the following year, UEFA allowed teams to take 26-player squads — instead of the traditional 23-player selections — at the delayed Euros in the summer of 2021. FIFA also kept 26-player squads for the men’s World Cup in 2022.
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England manager Gareth Southgate — who is expected to name his initial squad on May 21, two days after the final matchday of the Premier League season — hinted at his support for keeping 23-man squads last month, saying: “There is one more UEFA meeting where there’s been a little bit of talk amongst some of the coaches about possibly increasing that (squad size from 23 to 26).
Asked whether he would support the call, Southgate added: “Well, given where we are (with injuries) now!
“We’ve got to make the best decisions (regarding selection) with what we know and some of those currently are going to be medical decisions.
“We’ve been able to get those right in the previous (two) tournaments. We’ve been able to give people time (to recover, having named them in the squad). But with 23 that’s definitely more difficult.”
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