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UEFA Euro 2008

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Template:Future-sport Template:Infobox Football European Championship The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2008, will take place in Austria and Switzerland, from 7 to 29 June 2008. It is the second in a series of three successful joint bids in the competition's history, alongside the UEFA Euro 2000, hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands and the 2012 competition in Poland and Ukraine.

A total of 16 teams will participate in the tournament. Austria and Switzerland will automatically qualify as hosts; Austria will be making its first appearance in the tournament. The remaining 14 teams will be determined through qualifying matches which started in August 2006. The winner of Euro 2008 will represent the UEFA at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Bid process

The two countries jointly bid to host the games, and faced major competition from Greece/Turkey, Scotland/Ireland, Russia, Hungary, Croatia/Bosnia-Herzegovina and a 4-way Nordic bid from Norway/Sweden/Denmark/Finland. Austria had already bid with another country before, which was Hungary for Euro 2004. They had eventually lost to Portugal.

Austria/Switzerland, Greece/Turkey, and Hungary were recommended before the final vote. Greece and Turkey were rejected and let Hungary and Austria/Switzerland battle for the win.

Venues

Switzerland will play all of its group-stage matches at Basel, and Austria will play all of its group-stage matches at Vienna.

In 2004, the Zürich venue became a problem for the organisers. Originally, the Hardturm stadium was to be renovated and used as the city's venue, but legal challenges delayed the plan to a point that would not have allowed the ground to be used in 2008. This created a problem, as the agreement between UEFA and the organizers stipulated that four venues would be used in each country. The problem was solved when the organizers proposed renovating Letzigrund instead; UEFA approved the revised plan in January 2005. The Letzigrund stadium hosted its first football match on 23 September 2007. [1]

Switzerland

City Stadium Capacity Host Club Host Matches and more
Basel St. Jakob-Park 42,500 FC Basel Switzerland's 3 group matches (including opening match), 2 quarter-finals, semi-final.
Berne Stade de Suisse Wankdorf 32,000 BSC Young Boys Three group matches
Geneva Stade de Genève 32,000 Servette FC Three group matches
Zürich Letzigrund Stadion 30,000 FC Zürich Three group matches

Austria

City Stadium Capacity Host Club Host Matches and more
Vienna Ernst Happel Stadion 53,000 Austria Austria's three group matches, two quarter-finals, semi-final and final.
Klagenfurt Wörthersee Stadion 32,000 SK Austria Kärnten Three group matches
Salzburg Wals Siezenheim Stadium 31,000 Red Bull Salzburg Three group matches
Insbruck Tivoli-Neu Stadion 30,000 FC Wacker Insbruck Three group matches

Qualifying

Main article: UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

The draw for the qualifying round took place in Montreux, Switzerland on 27 January, 2006 at 12:00 CET.

The qualifying process commenced a month after the 2006 World Cup. Austria and Switzerland automatically qualified for the tournament finals as host nations.

The qualifying format has been changed compared to previous tournaments. The winners and runners-up from seven groups will automatically qualify for the Championship, with the hosts filling the other two slots in the 16-team tournament. The change means there will be no play-offs between teams finishing in second place in the groups - they will qualify directly for the finals. Teams finishing in third place will not have any further opportunity to qualify. Six of the qualifying groups contain seven teams, and the other, Group A, contains eight.

Qualified teams

Country Qualification status Date of qualification secured Previous appearances in tournament
 Austria Automatic qualifier December 12, 2002 Debut appearance
  Switzerland Automatic qualifier December 12, 2002 2 (1996, 2004)
 Poland Group A November 17, 2007 Debut appearance
Group A
 France Group B November 17, 2007 6 (1968, 1980, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004)
 Italy Group B November 17, 2007 6 (1960, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004)
 Greece Group C winner October 17, 2007 2 (1980, 2004)
Group C
 Czech Republic Group D October 17, 2007 6 (19601, 19761, 19801, 1996, 2000, 2004)
 Germany Group D October 13, 2007 9 (19722, 19762, 19802, 19842, 19882, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004)
 Croatia Group E November 17, 2007 2 (1996, 2004)
Group E
Group F
 Spain Group F November 17, 2007 7 (1964, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004)
 Romania Group G October 17, 2007 3 (1984, 1996, 2000)
 Netherlands Group G November 17, 2007 7 (1976, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004)
1 as Czechoslovakia
2 as West Germany
  • Bolded years represent tournament editions won by the mentioned team.

Group stage

The draw for the final tournament is scheduled for December 2 2007. In a return to the format used at Euro 92 and Euro 96 the games in each group will be held at just two stadia, with the seeded team remaining in the same city for all three matches. As was the case at the 2000 and 2004 finals, the finalists will be divided into 4 seeding pots, with each group having one team from each pot.[2][3] Greece, as defending champions, will be seeded first (C1 or D1).

Group A

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
  Switzerland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
A4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Switzerland –A2
A3–A4
A2–A3
Switzerland –A4
Switzerland –A3
A2–A4

Group B

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Austria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Austria –B2
B3–B4
B2–B3
Austria –B4
Austria –B3
B2–B4

Group C

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
C1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
C2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
C3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
C4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
C3–C4
C1–C2
C2–C3
C1–C4
C1–C3
C2–C4

Group D

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
D1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D3–D4
D1–D2
D2–D3
D4–D1
D1–D3
D2–D4

Knockout stages

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
19 June - Basel
 
 
A1
 
25 June - Basel
 
B2
 
 
 
20 June - Vienna
 
 
 
B1
 
29 June - Vienna
 
A2
 
 
 
21 June - Basel
 
 
 
C1
 
26 June - Vienna
 
D2
 
 
 
22 June - Vienna
 
 
 
D1
 
 
C2
 

Slogan

The slogan for UEFA Euro 2008 was chosen on 24 January 2007: Expect Emotions.

The UEFA Chief-Executive Lars-Christer Olsson stated "It describes in a nutshell what the UEFA Euro 2008 has to offer: all kinds of emotions — joy, disappointment, relief or high tension — right up to the final whistle."[4]

Mascots

File:Trix and Flix.jpg
Trix and Flix, the official mascots for the UEFA Euro 2008 competition

The two official mascots for UEFA Euro 2008, were named after a vote from the public of the two host nations, the options were:

  • Zagi and Zigi
  • Flitz and Bitz
  • Trix and Flix

After receiving 36.3% of the vote, Trix and Flix were chosen. "I am sure the mascots and their names will become a vital part of the understanding of the whole event," said Christian Mutschler, who is the tournament director for Switzerland. [5]

Broadcasting rights

The following national broadcasters have secured broadcasting rights of the tournament, as of September 24, 2007.[6]

UEFA

Non-UEFA

References

  1. ^ Zurich - Letzigrund Stadion
  2. ^ Format from UEFA Website
  3. ^ UEFA Euro 2008 Information
  4. ^ Expect Emotions at Euro 2008
  5. ^ Official Mascot Naming
  6. ^ UEFA Euro 2008 Broadcasting Rights
  7. ^ Digitürk 2008 deal for Turkey
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2008 European Football Championship.

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