The '2008
UEFA European Football Championship', commonly referred to as 'Euro 2008', will take place in
Austria and
Switzerland, from
7 June 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.
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
Euro 2008 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 will be ready in September 2007.
[1]
Switzerland
Austria
Qualifying
Main articles: 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.
Standings
'Key':
★ Teams highlighted in green have definitely qualified.
★ Teams highlighted in red are unable to qualify.
| Group A | Group B | Group C |
|---|
| | |
| Group D | Group E | Group F |
|---|
| | |
| Group G |
|---|
| |
(
★ ) Armenia and Azerbaijan will only play 12 matches due to UEFA's decision to cancel the two fixtures between these countries, on
September 8,
2007 and
September 12,
2007, with no points awarded to both teams.
[2]
Qualified teams
★ (co-hosts)
★ (co-hosts)
Denmark-Sweden match abandonment
Main articles: UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier fan attack
On
2 June 2007 the match between
Sweden and
Denmark in
Group F was abandoned in the 89th minute after a fan attacked the referee. With the score 3-3 the Danish player
Christian Poulsen was sent off the pitch and Sweden was awarded a penalty when a Danish fan ran onto the pitch and attacked the referee. The referee then left the pitch and later deemed the Swedish team the winner of the match by 3-0. A hearing took place on
June 8 and decided to award Sweden a 3-0 victory. Denmark were also forced to play their next two games away from
Copenhagen.
Cancellation of matches between Armenia and Azerbaijan
The two matches between
Armenia and
Azerbaijan were cancelled by UEFA with zero points awarded to both teams. Armenia wanted the games played on a normal home and away basis but Azerbaijan refused to host the Armenians and proposed a neutral ground for both matches. No compromise could be found.
[3]
Group Stage
The draw for the final tournament is scheduled for
December 2 2007.
Group A
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|
| '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 |
----
----
----
----
----
Group B
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|
| '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 |
----
----
----
----
----
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 |
----
----
----
----
----
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 |
----
----
----
----
----
Knockout stages
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
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 recieving 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
June 18,
2007.
[6]
Europe
★ -
Top Channel / Digitalb, Premium 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
★ - C1
★ - Lider TV
★ - ONT
★ - BHT
★ -
Diema
★ -
TV Prima
★ -
HRT
★ -
TV2
★ -
ETV
★ -
TF1 /
M6
★ - Rustavi2
★ -
ARD /
ZDF
★ -
ERT
★ -
MTV /
Sport 1
★ -
YLE
★ -
RÚV
★ -
RTÉ
★ -
RAI
★ -
Khabar
★ -
NOS
★ -
TV2 /
Telenor
★ -
Polsat
★ -
TVI /
Sport TV
★ -
TVR
★ -
TV3
★ -
TV4,
Canal+
★ -
SRG
★ -
ATV
★ -
BBC /
ITV
Non-European
★
TV Record/
Sportv
★ and -
ESPN -- ''Joint Contract''
★ , , , , , , -
ESPN Star Sports -- ''Joint Contract''
★ Middle East, and North Africa -
Al Jazeera Sports -- ''Joint Contract''
★ -
PCCW
★ -
Astro
★ -
MBC /
KBS
★ - Sport's Channel
★ - Dubai Sport / AD Sport
★ -
TV Azteca /
Televisa
★ -
ESPN Australia
★ -
Sky Television
References
1. Zurich - Letzigrund Stadion
2. UEFA cancel Armenia v Azerbaijan Euro qualifiers
3. UEFA cancel Armenia v Azerbaijan Euro qualifiers
4. Expect Emotions at Euro 2008
5. Official Mascot Naming
6. UEFA Euro 2008 Broadcasting Rights
External links
★
UEFA Euro 2008 Official Site
★
Format from UEFA Website
★
Official Guide for Euro 2008 including all match reports
★
UEFA Euro 2008 Standings, Results, Fixtures
★
UEFA Euro 2008 Match and Tournament Guide
★
Wikitravel Travel guide for the tournament
★
UEFA Broadcasting Rights Sales
★
Euro 2008 Blog
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