You are in > manchester.com  > News > Uefa to expand Euro Championships in 2016

General Sport

Uefa to expand Euro Championships in 2016

29/06/2008

Uefa has voted in favour of expanding the European Championships from 16 to 24 teams from the 2016 tournament onwards.

Buoyed by the success of Euro 2008, a meeting of association presidents and general secretaries was said to be 100 per cent in favour of the proposal.

The plan will be given the official go-ahead when the Uefa executive committee meets in September.

It is hoped that by expanding the tournament by an additional eight, there will be more interest generated in the qualifying rounds as more teams will be in with a chance of reaching the finals towards the end of the group stage.

Uefa also hope that it will allow smaller and emerging European nations the opportunity to compete on the tournament stage.

Michel Platini, the Uefa president, backed the proposal, claiming that the Euro's and World Cup have always increased in size over time while quality has not been compromised.

He said: "It is not certain it was better with eight teams than 16 or that 16 is better than 24 or 32 or 54."

Platini highlighted some of the sides that had missed out on the championships this time round and claimed they would not have affected the quality of the football played had they been included.

He said: "I am not worried about the quality by increasing the number of teams. Countries like England, Denmark, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, Serbia, Ukraine and Bulgaria all have the ability to participate in a European Championship.

"Would they reduce the quality of the Euro? I believe they have the quality to take part. There are teams that could be at the Euros and even enhance the quality of the competition."

The European championships were held between four countries in its inaugural year. Eight teams were included in 1980 before that was increased to 16 for the first time at Euro 96 in England.