PARIS: Euro 2016 kicks off on Friday at the Stade de France, the national stadium near Paris, and the first match is being played between the hosts France and Group A opponents Romania amid an unprecedented security operation.

According to media reports, the French authorities have made strict security arrangements for the championship.

The organizers, Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) and French authorities insist they have done everything possible to keep the 2.5 million spectators expected at the 51 matches safe.

“More than 90,000 police, soldiers, and private guards will be deployed at the tournament, with seven million fans expected to visit the 10 host cities,” said the authorities in a statement.

However, the US and British governments have both warned fans they could be at risk.

The British authorities warned their 500,000 nationals and Euro supporters in France that stadiums, fan zones and transport hubs are possible targets for attack.

One of the Metropolitan Police’s former head of counter-terrorism, Richard Walton said the threat to Euro 2016 is “more acute than for any other international sporting event in history”.

On the other side, Defence Secretary of the Lille region, Jean-Christophe Bouvier, claimed that 200 security staff will be inside the city’s fan zone, with 3,400 police and military forces working each day.

France government is trying hard to provide every possible security to the participants and supporters of the Euro championship, since it remains under a state of emergency after last November’s attacks on Paris, when 130 people were killed.

The Euro 2016 games are taking place in Paris, Bordeaux, Lens, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Saint-Denis, Saint-Etienne, and Toulouse.

There are 53 teams qualifying for Euro 2016 which are divided into six groups of four. Each team will play the other three in its group once.

The final will be held on July 10 at Stade de France.