UEFA Euro is coming soon, and all soccer fans can expect a great show when it arrives this summer.
Let’s look back and see how much things have changed and how much this tournament has grown up since it started.
France is the host country for the tournament this year. Photo: @Euro2016 | Twitter
Initially the tournament was called the UEFA European Nation’s Cup. Its name wasn’t changed to its current one, UEFA Euro, until the third edition of the tournament.
The first tournament was also only featured 4 teams. 17 attempted to qualify, but only four made it to the final tournament.
It was not just the name of competition and the number of teams that changed over the years. The tournament’s quality, qualifying process, and importance in international soccer in terms of accessibility, income, and popularity have all evolved as well.
France is going to host the tournament this year. France was chosen in May of 2010, when they won the bid over Italy, Turkey and Norway and Sweden. 53 teams competed in the qualifiers to secure a place among the 23 available to hosts France, who automatically qualified for the tournament. France 2016 will be the first UEFA Euro in which 24 teams were allowed to qualify for the final tournament. The increase of the number of total number of teams made the process of qualification a little easier, so expect a wider competitive gap than past tournaments.
Interestingly enough, Michel Platini, the current President of UEFA and a Frenchmen himself, said back in 2013 that he thought the larger pool of teams will make qualifying less interesting. He suggested having the first qualifying matches take place in countries like Brazil, the United States, and Argentina to promote and develop football in these countries.
Maradona and Platini with their respective Italian clubs, Napoli and Juventus. Photo: @RadioDiblu | Twitter
It is worth remembering that Michel Platini was also one of the greatest soccer players in history. The former Juventus #10 is the top goalscorer in UEFA Euro history with 9 Goals. Maybe this is one of the reasons he cares so much about this tournament. Another record: he scored all of his goals at UEFA Euro 1984, which makes him the top goal scorer in a single tournament as well.
Another change has been made for the next UEFA Euro in 2020. Initially the bid cities were Turkey, which had bid to 2016, a joint bid from the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and a joint bid from Georgia and Azerbaijan, but in December 2012 UEFA announced that the tournament would be hosted in several europeans countries.
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This change should enhance the popularity of the 2020 tournament, and consequently increase the interest of international sponsors and media covering the tournament. It will also make the tournament more accessible to the fans, because one of the host cities will likely be close by them.
This video shows the main changes to this edition:
Looking back all these changes and the importance of this tournament we can only expect another great soccer spectacle with more special moments than anyone knows what to do with.
