Also known as the UEFA European championship is one of my favorite football events. This competition is the second best out there after worldcup of Fifa for the football players and for the fans of football as well. It was founded in 1960; UEFA stands for Union of European Football Associations, this association is the one behind the arrangement of euro cup and is held after every four years. The present champions of the Euro 2012 are the Spanish team. The most successful teams in this competition have been that of Germany and Spain, as they both had won the title thrice.
The Euro cup of 2012 was held by Poland and Ukraine together. A total of 14 finalists went ahead, Spain won by defeating Italy with a score of 4-0 at a stadium in Kiev, Ukraine. The next Euro cup will be held in 2016 by France who won the bid by defeating Turkey with a single vote.
Let’s talk about the trophy which is awarded to the team which wins it. It is known as the Henri Delaunay which is named after a person who was the first secretary of UEFA. The idea of forming a championship was his, but Henri died in 1955, that was five years before the first competition. The son of Henri created this trophy and ever since that time, it is awarded to the team who wins the competition, that team than takes care of the trophy and after four years it is awarded to the next champions.
4 teams used to participate in this cup by before 1980. In 1980, 8 teams participated, the number of teams then increased to 16. For many European nations, qualifying for the world cup has been an easier task as compared to qualifying for the Euro cup. First time in the history of UEFA Championships, 24 teams will be participating in the finals of this competition in 2016.
