UEFA EURO 2008 Live Online
European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's teams. It held every four years since 1960. Originally it was called the European Nations Cup, but the name was changed on European Football Championship in 1968.
The first country which won the «EURO» was USSR.
The Trophy of European Football Championship
The Henri Delaunay Trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the European Football Championship, is named in honor of Hendry Delaunay, the first General Secretary of UEFA, who came up with the idea of a European championship but died five years prior to the first tournament in 1960. His son Pierre Delaunay was the person in charge of making the trophy. Since the first tournament it has been awarded for the winning team to keep for four years, until the next tournament.
For the 2008 tournament, the trophy was slightly remodeled making it larger. The trophy, which is made of sterling silver, now weighs 8 kilograms and is 60 centimeters tall. A small figure juggling a ball on the back of the original was removed, as was the marble plinth. The silver base of the trophy had to be enlarged to make it stable. The names of the winning countries that had appeared on the plinth have now been engraved on the back of the trophy.
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, «Euro 2008», will take place in Austria and Switzerland, from 7 June to 29 June 2008. It is the second successful joint bid in the competition's history, following UEFA Euro 2000 hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands.
A total of 16 teams will take part in the tournament. Austria and Switzerland automatically qualified as hosts; the remaining 14 teams have been determined through qualifying matches which started in August 2006.The winner of Euro 2008 will represent UEFA at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.
UEFA Euro - The Competition
Before 1980, only four teams qualified for the final tournament. From 1980 eight teams competed and in 1996 the tournament expanded again to the current number of teams, 16. The competing teams are chosen by a series of qualifying games. In 1960 and 1964 it was through home and away play-offs and from 1968 through a combination of both qualifying groups and play-off games. The host country was selected from the four finalists after they were determined through qualifying.
Since the expansion of the final tournament starting from 1980, the host country, or countries, have been chosen beforehand and qualify automatically.
An automatic place in the finals have never been granted for the defending champions.
Statistic of UEFA European Football Championship.
| Austria | 0 (debut appearance) |
| Switzerland | 2 (1996, 2004) |
| Poland | 0 (debut appearance) |
| Portugal | 4 (1984,1996,2000,2004) |
| Italy | 6 (1968, 1980,1988,1996,2000,2004) |
| France | 6 (1960,1984, 1992,1996,2000,2004) |
| Greece | 2 (1980, 2004) |
| Turkey | 2 (1996, 2000) |
| Czech Republic | 6 (1960, 1976, 1980, 1996, 2000, 2004) |
| Germany | 9 (1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 2004) |
| Croatia | 2 (1996, 2004) |
| Russia | 8 (1960,1964,1968, 1972, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2004) |
| Spain | 7 (1964,1980,1984,1988,1996,2000,2004) |
| Sweden | 3 (1992,2000,2004) |
| Romania | 3 (1984,1996,2000) |
| Netherlands | 7 (1976,1980,1988,1992,1996,2000,2004) |
Qualifying
In order to qualify a team must be winners or runners-up in one of the seven qualifying groups. After this a team proceeds to the finals round in the host country, although hosts qualify for the tournament automatically. The qualifying phase begins in the autumn after the preceding FIFA World Cup, almost two years before the finals.
The groups for qualification are drawn by a UEFA committee using seeding. According to the rules, two-hosts and the Champion of EURO 2004 - Greece has qualified automatically. Netherland joined them as the team with the highest rank through the resalts of qualifiing matches to EURO 2006 and EURO 2008. The other teams were distributed to the groups depending from the coeffcient. In case of equal coeffcient, commetee takes into account the results of qualification to EURO 2008: superior goal difference, higher number of goals scored, higher number of goals scored away from home, fair play conduct, drawing of lots.
The qualifying phase is played in a group format. The composition of the groups is defined through means of a draw of teams from pre-defined seeded bowls. For the EURO 2008, the group qualifying phase consists of seven groups. One of eight teams and the remainder of seven teams in every group.
The qualifying phase is done in groups, each effectively a mini league, where the highest ranked team and the runner up. After all the teams have played each other home and away games, progresses to the finals tournament. As with most leagues, the points are awarded as three for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. In the eventuality of one or more teams having equal points after all matches have been played, the following criteria are used to distinguish the sides:
1.Higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question.
2.Superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question.
3.Higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question.
4.Higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question.
5.Results of all group matches:
- Superior goal difference
- Higher number of goals scored
- Higher number of goals scored away from home
- Fair play conduct