The venue for the 14th European Championships has been decided- it will be held in Poland/Ukraine. The Poles and the Ukranians made a joint bid, and were awarded the tournament ahead of Italy and Croatia/Hungary.
The number of teams for the quadrennial event will be 16- UEFA voted on the 17th of April against the expansion to 24. The 2008 championships will be held in Austria/ Switzerland. Euro 2000 was also held in two countries- Belgium and Holland.
As you might have known, the hosts get automatic entry into the tournament. This practice has been followed since 1980, and it means that both Poland and Ukraine, who have never qualified for the tournament since its inception in 1960, will play in 2012. Both the teams could still qualify for the 2008 edition, for which qualifying is still in progress.
The final decisions were made in Cardiff, Wales and the winning bid got 8 votes. Italy, who have hosted the tournament twice ( 1968 and 1990) finished second with 4 votes. The Italians might have been favourites given their superior infrastracture, but I think the result will help UEFA tap the massive Eastern European market. Although not as big as its Western counterpart, Eastern Europe still has plenty of football fans, and used to dominate the football world not too long ago.
In the 2006 World Cup, Poland crashed out in the first round, while Ukraine fell in the quarter finals to eventual winners Italy.
The opening game of the tournament will be played in Warsaw, the Polish capital. Kiev will host the final.
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