Gareth Southgate was among the group of top managers who wanted to see squad sizes at this summer’s European Championships increased from 23 to 26, and now UEFA have made their decision

UEFA have confirmed that teams will be allowed to register 26-man squads at this summer’s European Championships.

The move serves as a major boost to England manager Gareth Southgate, who’s had to deal with an increasing number of injury issues in recent months. Southgate and the 23 other managers involved at Euro 2024 recently met to discuss the proposed change and UEFA have now ratified the decision.

“The increase does not represent an obligation for the participating national associations. In accordance with the competition regulations, teams must provide UEFA with a list containing a minimum of 23 players and a maximum of 26 by the deadline of 7 June.”

Squads were first increased 26 players for the Covid-delayed European Championships in 2021. This was in order for teams to have enough players on a matchday if individuals were forced to self-isolate during the tournament.

Global football governing body FIFA then kept 26-man squads for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as the competition took place in the middle of the traditional club season and concerns over player welfare were quickly growing. Initially, UEFA decided to revert to squads of 23 for this summer’s Euros but after pressure from managers, they’ve made a U-turn.

The Three Lions boss added: “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 from injuries, having named them in the squad]. But with 23 that’s definitely more difficult.”

England will need to submit their final squad by 11pm on June 7, which comes just over an hour after after their final warm-up friendly against ­Iceland at Wembley. Southgate has confirmed that he’ll name a provisional squad on May 21, two days after the end of the Premier League season.

The likes of Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish will also be glad to hear about the increase, as it gives them a greater a chance of making Southgate’s final cut after disappointing seasons at club level.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/breaking-southgate-uefa-euro-2024-32731551