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UEFA Euro 2016

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2016 UEFA European Football Championship
Championnat d'Europe de football 2016 Template:Fr icon
File:UEFA Euro 2016 logo.jpg
Tournament details
Host countryFrance
Teams24 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)9 (in 9 host cities)
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2020 →

The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2016, will be the 15th European Championship for national football teams sanctioned by UEFA. It will be held in the summer of 2016. The host nation was announced to be France on 28 May 2010.[1][2] The tournament will be expanded from 16 to 24 teams in 2016 after the plan was unanimously agreed by senior officials of all 53 UEFA member nations.[3]

Bidding process

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 bids

Four bids came before the deadline at 9 March 2009, which were France, Italy and Turkey as single bids and Norway and Sweden as a joint bid.[4] Norway and Sweden eventually withdrew their bid in December 2009.[5]

The host was selected on 28 May 2010:

First round

  • France France (43 points)
  • Turkey Turkey (38 points)
  • Italy Italy (23 points, eliminated)

Final round

Voting Results
Country Votes
 France 7
 Turkey 6

Decision controversy

There was controversy concerning the decision to giving the Euro 2016 to France and not to Turkey. After the decision was announced, responding to the question "During Sepp Blatter's term Euro 2008 was awarded to Switzerland, during your term Euro 2016 is awarded to France, is this the new trend?" Michel Platini said "When there is a Turkish president, then you can host a major tournament".[6]

Guus Hiddink was also highly critical of the decision, stating: "This proves once again that in top-flight football the game is run by politics", and "UEFA gave the Euro 2016 finals to France, who have already had the tournament twice and they also had the World Cup finals in 1998. This does not feel right. I get the feeling that the actual bid was about other things. Otherwise the choice for France as hosting nation, the country of UEFA president Michel Platini, cannot be explained."[7]

Another highly controversial remark came from the French national player Marc Planus: "We learned that last night (Thursday night). We're really excited, it will boost the French football" The bidding and the decision process has taken place on Friday, one day after the day French player suggested that "they have already known".[8][9]

Before the bidding process, Michel Platini introduced the French president Nicolas Sarkozy to every member of the decision committee in person, while he did not do the same for the Turkish president Abdullah Gul. After the decision Platini concluded:

"I'm happy because France has won, and I'm French — let's not forget it,"[10]

Expanded format

The format of the final tournament will consist of six groups of four teams, followed by a round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. The top two from each group would qualify in addition to the four best third-ranked sides, the same system as was applied in the World Cups from 1986 to 1994. This format would generate a total of 51 games, compared with 31 now, to be played over a period of 29 days.

Qualification

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

With the expansion to 24 teams, middle-ranked countries have a much greater chance to qualify for the finals than earlier. The traditional qualifying structure, with groups of six and five teams, will remain in place.

Venues

Twelve stadia were presented for the bid, of which [11] will be used during the tournament:

Saint-Denis Marseille Lyon Paris Villeneuve d'Ascq (Lille) Lens
Stade de France Stade Vélodrome Stade des Lumières Parc des Princes Grand Stade Lille Métropole Stade Félix-Bollaert
48°55′28″N 2°21′36″E / 48.92444°N 2.36000°E / 48.92444; 2.36000 (Stade de France) 43°16′11″N 5°23′45″E / 43.26972°N 5.39583°E / 43.26972; 5.39583 (Stade Vélodrome) 45°46′01″N 4°58′52″E / 45.766912°N 4.980991°E / 45.766912; 4.980991 (Lyon) 48°50′29″N 2°15′11″E / 48.84139°N 2.25306°E / 48.84139; 2.25306 (Parc des Princes) 50°36′41″N 3°07′42″E / 50.611275°N 3.128196°E / 50.611275; 3.128196 (Grand Stade Lille Métropole) 50°25′58.26″N 2°48′53.47″E / 50.4328500°N 2.8148528°E / 50.4328500; 2.8148528 (Lens)
Capacity: 81,338 Capacity: 67,000 Capacity: 61,556 Capacity: 51,000 Capacity: 50,186 Capacity: 45,000
File:Stade de France 2005.jpg File:Vue du Stade Vélodrome depuis la Tour France 3.jpg
Bordeaux Saint-Étienne Toulouse Strasbourg Nancy Nice
New stadium Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium Municipal Stade de la Meinau Stade Marcel Picot Grand Stade Nice
45°27′38.76″N 4°23′24.42″E / 45.4607667°N 4.3901167°E / 45.4607667; 4.3901167 (Saint-Étienne) 43°34′59.93″N 1°26′2.57″E / 43.5833139°N 1.4340472°E / 43.5833139; 1.4340472 (Toulouse) 48°33′36.23″N 7°45′17.89″E / 48.5600639°N 7.7549694°E / 48.5600639; 7.7549694 (Strasbourg) 48°41′44″N 6°12′38″E / 48.6955°N 6.210687°E / 48.6955; 6.210687 (Nancy) 43°42′25″N 7°11′40″E / 43.70694°N 7.19444°E / 43.70694; 7.19444 (Nice)
Capacity: 42,000 Capacity: 41,000 Capacity: 41,000 Capacity: 36,153 Capacity: 35,000 Capacity: 35,000
File:StadiumToulouse1b.JPG File:Maquette-GrandStadeNice.jpg

The French Federation had to pick up which nine stadia would actually be used. The choice for the seven first was undisputed - Stade de France, four newly-constructed stadia in Lille, Lyon, Nice and Bordeaux, and those of the biggest cities, Paris and Marseille. The last two remaining places, after Strasbourg opted out for financial reasons, were chosen to be Lens and Nancy in the first round of voting, instead of Saint-Étienne and Toulouse, chosen as reserve stadia, who vainly protested. In June 2011, the number of host venues was increased to eleven because of the new tournament format which sees 24 teams taking part, instead of just 16. The decision means that the reserve cities of Toulouse and St Etienne joined the list of fully-fledged hosts.

References

  1. ^ "2016 bidding process given green light". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  2. ^ "France beat Turkey and Italy to stage Euro 2016". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  3. ^ "UEFA approves 24-team EURO from 2016". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  4. ^ "Four candidates signal UEFA EURO 2016 interest". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  5. ^ "Regeringen säger nej till EM 2016-ansökan". Svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  6. ^ "Platini'den Şok Açıklama: Sıradaki Başkan Türk Olursa Siz De Kazanabilirsiniz". habervitrini.com (in Turkish). Haber Vitrini. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  7. ^ Draper, Rob (30 May 2010). "Guus Hiddink slams UEFA decision to grant France Euro 2016 ahead of Turkey". Mail Online. London: Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  8. ^ "Organisation de l'Euro 2016 en France : la boulette du Bordelais Marc Planus ?". SudOuest.fr (in French). Sud Ouest. 29 May 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  9. ^ "Lapsus de Marc Planus : les Bleus savaient-ils dès jeudi que l'Euro 2016 serait organisé en France?". LePost.fr (in French). Le Post. 29 May 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  10. ^ Hughes, Rob (1 June 2010). "Soccer Gets Out the Vote, the Presidential Way". NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  11. ^ eleven
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