The UEFA European Football Championship is the main association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the sport's European governing body. Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current name in 1968. Starting with the 1996 tournament, specific championships are often referred to in the form "Euro 2012" or whichever year is appropriate.
Prior to entering the tournament all teams other than the host nations (which qualify automatically) compete in a qualifying process. The championship winners earn the opportunity to compete in the following FIFA Confederations Cup, but are not obliged to do so.
The 14 European Championship tournaments have been won by nine different national teams: Germany and Spain each have won three titles, France has two titles, and Soviet Union, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Netherlands, Denmark and Greece have won one title each. To date, Spain are the only side in history to have won consecutive titles, doing so in the 2008 and 2012 editions.
The most recent championship, co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine in 2012, was won by Spain, who beat Italy 4–0 at the final in Kiev. The next European Championship will be hosted in France.
Read more about UEFA European Football Championship: Trophy, Tournament Summary, Players Records and Statistics, Winning Coaches
Famous quotes containing the words european and/or football:
“Is thy home European or Asian,
O mystical monster marine?”
—Arthur Clement Hilton (1851–1877)
“People stress the violence. That’s the smallest part of it. Football is brutal only from a distance. In the middle of it there’s a calm, a tranquility. The players accept pain. There’s a sense of order even at the end of a running play with bodies stewn everywhere. When the systems interlock, there’s a satisfaction to the game that can’t be duplicated. There’s a harmony.”
—Don Delillo (b. 1926)