Saturday, June 7, 2008

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL FEST BEGINS : UEFA 2008




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 successful joint bid in the competition's history, following the UEFA Euro 2000 hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands.

Grit your teeth and pretend to enjoy the opening ceremony and you’ll be rewarded. Because after the dancing and what not, it all begins. Co-hosts Switzerland versus Euro ‘96 finalists the Czech Republic, and when the whistle goes for kickoff, Euro 2008 is underway.

A total of 16 teams will participate 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. Austria and Poland will be making their first appearance in the tournament. The winner of Euro 2008 will represent UEFA at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, unless Italy wins the tournament, in which case the runner-up will be entered, as Italy is already entered as the winner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

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