UEFA European Championship 2008: Tournament History

Euro 2008 will take place in Austria and Switzerland from 7 June to 29 June 2008.

Over the next 12 days, I will bring to life highlights of each of the tournaments that have taken place since its inception in 1960 through to 2004.

By Citizen Correspondent Sir Stephen

Date Posted: 05/14/08

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The UEFA European Championship has turned into a massive success story and enjoys the status of one of the world's biggest sporting events. This despite the fact that the championship's creation five decades ago was more difficult than might be expected.

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.

A total of 16 teams will participate in the tournament. Austria and Switzerland automatically qualified as hosts; the remaining 14 teams (Poland, Portugal, Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, Czech Republic, Germany, Croatia, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Romania and the Netherlands) have been determined through qualifying matches that started in August 2006. Austria and Poland will be making their first appearance in the tournament. The winner of Euro 2008 will represent the UEFA at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

The UEFA European Football Championship is the pinnacle of international football for all European nations governed by the European ruling body, UEFA (Union of European Football Associations).

Held every four years since 1960, the European Championships tournament has undergone severe changes since it’s inception through to it’s modern day format and is one of the most prestigious football tournaments in world soccer.

In the last 48 years of the European Championship, it has have thrown up some of the greatest matches in history - who can forget France's amazing 3-2 win over Portugal in 1984 or England's heroic failure against eventual winners Germany twelve years later.

The Championship has also managed to throw up some of football's biggest surprises, such as Denmark's sensational success in Sweden in 1992 or the Czechs' defeat of the champions - Germany - back in 1974.

The Origins

Proposal: Championships for national associations had already begun on other continents by the time the idea of a European competition for national teams began to reach fruition in the 1950s.