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These days any international sport competition becomes a money spinner. Professional sport is big business; the bigger the event, the bigger the returns. We are now talking in terms of billions of euros.
EURO 2004, which gets underway on Saturday June 12, is not an exception. The preparatory budget is planned in such a way that the big figures spent along the years will yield a high return. Even if one has to think about the millions that are spent in just presenting a bid, one gets an idea of what is at stake. One has not to be too clever to conclude why countries are so keen to organise an international sporting championship. The main consideration is centred on how much money the country and the organising body will make by staging the event. Nothing else really matters. Even the actual competition takes second place.
The host country will spend millions in infrastructure which is not solely directed towards the building of new stadiums and the improvement of all the roads leading to airports and terminals; it also involves the embellishment of a number of towns and cities as the whole nation is on show.
The ripple effects are reflected in the thousands of ideas that are put into practice with the sole aim being making huge profits. The eventual returns are bound to have a positive impact on the country’s coffers. Logistics cost a lot of money but these are offset by TV contracts, advertising, marketing, ticket-sales, sponsorships, merchandising, tourism, and other sources of income. TV contracts are massive. The pattern of selling exclusive rights which are eventually spread to other stations, multiply the figures to an impressive degree. Globe Cast, for example, has signed agreements with Sky News, Sky Sports News, French broadcasters, French television and Japan National TV, Wow Wow, for coverage of the European Football Championships. The figures are enormous. Even the rewards for the Champion side are extremely high. The winning country is assured of 30m Swiss francs as prize-money. The other perks are equally impressive.
Security arrangements
Portugal will host a football festival which needs perfect security arrangements for the ten million inhabitants and the expected 500,000 tourists. Enormous figures, are spent, and thousands of people will most certainly be involved but at the end of the day, every euro spent in the safety of the people is money well spent. A clear example is shown by the fact that 2,700 suspected English hooligans will be stopped from travelling to Portugal. Border controls, which were scrapped in 1991, will be restored, by Portugal as part of its security measures. England could be banned if there is a repeat of previous violence and even Eriksson remarked about this possible danger.
EURO 2004 is not merely the 31 football fixtures which will be played in ten modern stadia, in eight cities of the western side of the Iberian peninsula.
It is a lot more than that
Fifty national teams went through a programme of 210 qualifying matches before they bought their ticket to Portugal. A far cry from the first edition which attracted just seventeen teams, and a total of 28 fixtures.
The competition was played on a home-and-away knock-out basis with the last four fixtures being staged in France.
The European Nations Cup competition, for the Henri Delaunay Trophy, aptly named after the French Football Federation's secretary, began on September 28,1958 when the team from the former Soviet Union (USSR) defeated Hungary 3-1 at Moscow's Central Stadium, in front of a crowd of 100,000. The USSR team went on to win the first edition with a 2-1 win over the former Yugoslavia, after extra time at the Parc des Prince.
The USSR also contested the final of the second edition, played forty years ago, when it was defeated by Spain (1-2) at Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid.
One must say that the format and name of the competition was changed a number of times. The title was won by penalty-kicks, and also by the controversial introduction of the golden goal. Twelve years ago, Denmark made history in Sweden. At the time of European political changes, the hostilities in Yogoslavia led to the exclusion of the Serbs. The Danes replaced them and without any preparation, the team formed of players who were called from holiday resorts, amazingly beat Germany 2-0 in the final. Yugoslavia's exclusion from the finals brought memories of previous ‘diplomatic interference.’ One of the quarter-finals of the very first edition between Spain and USSR was not played because of the Spanish dictator Francesco Franco’s order to withdraw for political reasons, while during the second edition Greece, refused to play Albania - they were technically at war.
After two co-hosted football tournaments in 2000 and 2002, it will come as something of a relief that Euro 2004 will be held solely in one country. Portugal may seem a strange choice as hosts, particularly when one considers that it beat competition from the favourites Spain and another joint bid, this time from Hungary and Austria. As a matter of interest, the next EURO Championship will again be co-hosted. In four years time the competition will be staged in Austria and Switzerland.
“We love football”
Portugal has a history of under-achievement in European Championships and World Cups. Nonetheless, though hardly one of the sport’s superpowers, Portugal can lay claim to a rich footballing history and in Porto, Benfica, and Sporting Lisbon boasts three clubs with Europe-wide reputations. Porto, of Jose Mario Mourinho, hit the limelight recently by lifting the Champions League title...an honour which also won the forty-one year old mentor a £20 million four-year contract with Chelsea. Porto’s success was the result of perfect planning and is conversant with Portugal’s progess since they were given the right to organise the Championship.
The Portuguese bid’s official motto was simple but clearly effective: ‘We Love Football.’ Portugal's ‘defeat’ of Spain in the bidding for Euro 2004 was particularly sweet given that it has long suffered in its larger neighbour’s shadows. On an international scale as well in football terms.
The tournament is to be held in eight cities, from Braga and Guimaraes in the north to Algavre in the south, with five of the ten stadiums being revamped in time for Europe’s premier football event. It was Portugal’s detailed plans for the development of its stadiums which eventually won over the UEFA executive committee, with benefits to sports other than just football. Capital city Lisbon, Braga, Aveiro, Coimbra, Porto and Algavre are proud of their new grounds, while a lot of money was spent on Benfica’s Stadium of Light which has increased its capacity to 70,000.
Portugal’s booming economy and international quality stadiums will undoubtedly help them to put their name firmly on the football map. They will be hoping that their team, of whom as ever great things will be expected, can live up to expectations. Make no mistake, Portugal will make an impact on the competition. Filipe Scolari who led Brazil to the World title two years ago is confident of success.
The favourites
Many football critics have put France as the greatest favourites, with Portugal, Italy, possibly Spain and England aiming for a place in the top four. While most consider the World Cup to be the tougher crown to win, the World’s best player, Zinedine Zidane, of France and Real Madrid fame, maintains that the European Championship is the greater challenge, “The EURO is a much more difficult tournament. There are so many teams that could win the title. And I do not mean three or four teams. I mean many, many.” The midfield genius who will turn 32 on June 23- midway through the finals added “Italy, France, Portugal, Spain and the Czech Repuiblic; all of them are capable of winning and therefore it will be an excellent tournament.” Zidane is very cautious indeed when he considers his side’s prospects. “The Japan and South Korea World Cup two years ago, has taught us a lot.”
Just for kicks I fancy France to be one of the finalists. I would not be surprised if Portugal are their opponents on that decisive day of July 4.
Kinas, the mascot
Kinas is bound to be one of the stars of Euro 2004. With a lust for life and an all-encompassing passion for football, rumour has it that Kinas was born in a small, remote, Portuguese village with a supernatural gift which saw him assume the knowledge and craft of all footballers, past and present. His incredible football skills have never gone to his head. He loves music and partying but above all, loves meeting people and making friends. After all, that is what sport is all about.
The opening ceremony will take place fifteen minutes before Saturday's first match between the hosts Portugal and Greece at Porto's estadio do Dragao, an opening ceremony welcoming all the sixteen teams and visiting supporters to Portugal. Ana Dias who is responsible for the opening and closing ceremonies emphasised that “after Portugal has discovered the world, it is time for the world to discover Portugal at EURO 2004.”
700 performers will be taking part and the crowd is expected to participate in the brilliant display with an original soundtrack, the elements of beat, history, the world, Portugal’s past, present and future.
Who said that EURO 2004 is just a football competition?
From our narrow angle we earned a single point in the qualifiers. Recently the national side went to Freiburg, to help the Germans with their preparations and suffered a routing, while a former player of the Pieta Hotspurs Nursery, the Bulgarian - born Lecce player, Valeri Bojinov is the youngest player of the tournament. He is just 18 years old.
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