In rarefied air... mountain villagers to lace up boots for Euro 2020

Despite the postponement of Euro 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, a small Swiss mountain village -- thought to be home to the highest pitch in Europe -- is hoping to stage a scaled-down version of the tournament this summer.

The European Mountain Village Championship dates back to 2008, the same year Switzerland co-hosted the conventional tournament with neighbours Austria, and is set to return to its origins in Gspon.

The competition was the brainchild of Fabian Furrer, a Gspon native and sports magazine editor, who splits his time between Bern and this idyllic village of 585 inhabitants, where in the winter "the ski slopes run across the football pitch".

Perched atop the canton of Valais in the Swiss Alps near Zermatt, Gspon sits two kilometres above sea level and is only accessible by cable car. Its football pitch, which bears the name of former Switzerland and Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, lies buried beneath snow each year until May.

After the inaugural event won by a team from Spain, the second edition was held in 2012 in Kleinarl, Austria, at an altitude of just over 1,000 metres. French ski resort Morzine most recently staged the tournament in 2016.

Originally planned for June, much like Euro 2020, the "Bergdorf Euro" was also forced to find new dates and pushed back until August 28-30.

- Isle of Man, Netherlands invited - ====================================
"Nobody has the guarantee the tournament can be organised as planned, but we are very optimistic and we make sure everything will be ready."
- 'Out of breath quicker' - ===========================
But above all, at this altitude, "we're out of breath quicker," he acknowledged. "And even if we spend the whole year at 1,000m, to play at 2,000m requires great physical condition."
"Many players of our team are touching 40 and don't play football regularly any more."