1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
German coalition collapseDonald TrumpCOP29

Championship Facts and Figures

June 11, 2004

The European soccer championships will take place in Portugal this year from June 12 through July 4. DW-WORLD looks at some of the more interesting facts about Euro 2004.

https://p.dw.com/p/51yi
Did you know nearly half a million people are expected to attend the tournament?Image: AP

The official name of Europe's top soccer (or football if you prefer) competition is the UEFA European Championship. Taking place every four years, the tournament pits Europe's best 16 sides against each other in a quest for international glory. It is arguably the sport's most prestigious title after the World Cup.

History

The tournament's first incarnation was as the European Nations' Cup. Held in 1960 in France, the Soviet Union beat Yugoslavia 2-1 in extra time.

Deutschland gewinnt Fußball-Europameisterschaft 1972
Germany beat the Soviet Union 3-0 in 1972.Image: dpa

Germany is the most successful side in the history of the tournament, bringing home the trophy three times in 1972, 1980 and 1996.

France is the current reigning European champion, defeating Italy 2-1 with a golden goal by David Trezeguet. Euro 2000 also marked the first time the competition was co-hosted by two nations, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Portugal 2004

Portugal has spent some €800 million ($948 million) to build ten new or completely overhauled stadiums for the tournament. Matches will be held in Lisbon, Porto, Leiria, Faro-Loule, Coimbra, Braga, Aveiro and Guimaraes.

Bildergalerie Stadien in Portugal: Coimbra
The new Coimbra stadium.Image: AP

Last minute changes are being made to the pitches in Coimbra and Guimaraes because according to Angelo Brou, vice-president of the Portuguese Soccer Federation, "they were not the ideal color for television broadcasting."

Lisbon international airport will get 12 new boarding gates and 40 new airplane parking spots to handle all the extra traffic during the championship.

Around 90 percent of the more than one million tickets for the tournament's 31 matches had already been sold by mid-May. An estimated seven billion people are expected to watch on television.

Security

Portugal has spent nearly €20 million on new police equipment to be prepared for possible hooligan fan violence which hit the last European championship in 2000.

Drei Bombenexplosionen in Athen
Image: AP

An extra €2 million has been added to the tournament's security budget to counter the threat of terrorism. Portugal has decided to re-impose border controls to increase security from May 26 to July 4.

Lisbon has also asked NATO to provide surveillance planes to patrol the country's airspace throughout the competition.

Mascot

Like every major modern sporting event, Portugal has also come up with a mascot for Euro 2004. Named Kinas, the wacky cartoon was suposedly born in a small remote Portugese village with supernatural knowledge of the sport.

Organizer are hoping his "infectious enthusiasm" will rub off on the Portuguese and their guests alike.