A terrorist cell was reportedly ordered by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) to target football's Euro 2016 with bomb attacks in France this summer.
Mohamed Abrini, who was captured by police this week following his involvement in November's Paris attacks and the bomb blasts in Brussels last month, is alleged to have told police about a threat to the sporting event.
Newspaper Liberation reported the revelation and the publication's source added: "If the Abrini statements are correct, it just confirms the fact that Belgium is an operational base that needs to be watched even more intensely. Jihadi networks and cells have been meeting there for at least 10 years."
England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are among the many nations due to compete at the European Championships, which begin on June 10.
On November 13 last year, 130 people were killed in Paris in a series of attacks, one of which occurred outside the Stade de France during an international friendly between France and Germany.
Last month, suicide bombers claimed the lives of 32 people in two separate attacks across the Belgian city of Brussels.
Danielle Joynson
