Europe, Regions POSTS
UEFA to ratify 24 team Euro Finals
Published by DSAdmin on October 23, 2008
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After debating a proposal that initiated from the Football Associations of Scotland and Ireland, FIFA are set to expand the number of teams that qualify for the finals of the European Championships from 16 to 24, starting from the 2016 European Championships.
Since the competitions initiation in 1960 under the auspices of Henri Delauney, after whom the trophy is named, the number of teams has steadily risen from four initially, up to eight in 1980, then sixteen in England in 1996 and now to twenty-four in the finals of 2016. Critics have said that introducing more teams to the tournament will “dilute the quality” of the competition, which from 2016 will be spread over four weeks from three, and will feature 51 games in total, as opposed to 31 currently. An accusation fiercely rebutted by the UEFA president Michel Platini (pictured) and senior officials, such as Franz Beckenbauer, who first made public the news that the expansion had been agreed upon by all 51 members of UEFA.
While UEFA will argue that the decision will be based purely on football terms, and on the seemingly never ending demand for tournament football, there are other ramifications to consider. By increasing the number of teams that are to be hosted at the finals, the number of games played, and the number of quality stadia needed to host the event, FIFA is effectively ruling out a great many of its members from being the hosts of the event, especially considering the fact that they are not going to consider joint bids after the 2012 finals, and the so far unimpressive preparation made by Poland and the Ukraine. This means realistically that only the bigger European nations such as Italy, Germany, France, England, Portugal, Russia and current champions Spain will have the football infrastructure and finances in place, in order to run the event successfully.
Perhaps the biggest motivating factor in the decision would be the increase in finances that a bigger competition would swell the UEFA coffers by. The 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland made UEFA a E250m profit for the organisation. By increasing the number of teams and games played, UEFA will also expect to see an increase in ticket sale revenue as well as in the sponsorship revenue generated. In addition a bigger Euro finals competition will ensure a significant enlargement in the amount of television revenue generated, especially since it will be unlikely that any of the huge television markets in Europe miss out on the finals, as England did in 2008.
Whether pundits and critics feel this is a sound move or not, in the long term, is irrelevant. The market for major international footballing tournaments is huge. Fans will flock to watch the games in their droves, often seeing an economic upturn in many countries for many national or international companies who gain from the sale of their products such as alcohol, food or televisions when these major tournaments are on. The live games themselves are sure fire winners for television companies in the fight for viewers. Every member country in UEFA was in favour of the proposal and it is easy to understand why. For the larger nations it means far less chance of them missing out on a major tournament every four years, whereas for the smaller nations it means that they have far greater chance of qualifying for the finals. The expansion is no additional physical toll on the players either; it just means simply that more players will be involved in the tournament in the first place. Indeed it can be argued that the greater rest time in between games, and the greater diversity of quality on offer will serve to enhance the overall quality of the competition, rather than diminish it.
So the 2016 finals will truly represent the best of Europe. 24 of the continents finest sides will descend upon an as yet undecided host to contest the title that Spain currently hold.
What is the betting that despite this, England will somehow contrive to miss out on qualification once again?
**Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons **
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