The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2008, is the 13th UEFA European Football Championship, a quadrennial football tournament for European nations. The tournament, which is being hosted by Austria and Switzerland, began on 7 June 2008 and is scheduled to conclude with the final at Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna on 29 June 2008. It is the second successful joint bid in the competition's history. Greece are the defending champions, having won the previous tournament.
Sixteen teams are participating in the tournament. Austria and Switzerland automatically qualified as hosts; the remaining 14 teams were determined through qualifying matches which began in August 2006. The winner of Euro 2008 will qualify for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, but will not be obliged to participate in it.
Austria and Switzerland 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 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.
The Austria/Switzerland bid is the second successful joint bid in the competition's history, following the UEFA Euro 2000 hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands. The 2012 competition in Poland and Ukraine is scheduled to become the third jointly-hosted tournament.
The tournament will be played at eight venues throughout the two host nations; four in Austria and four in Switzerland. Each venue has a capacity of at least 30,000 for the tournament; the largest stadium is Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna with a capacity of 53,295.[3] It is for this reason that Ernst Happel Stadion will host the final. Switzerland will play all of its group stage matches at St. Jakob Park in Basel, which also hosted the opening match of the tournament as a compromise for the final being held in Vienna. Austria will play all of its group stage matches at Ernst Happel Stadion.
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
Who are you guys rooting for?