The UEFA European Championships Tournament

Running since 1960, The UEFA Championships have undergone some name changes but the format has stayed relatively similar since its inception.

Like The World Cup, teams need to qualify and all eligible teams play off in leagues for the privilege of playing in the tournament. Again, similar to the World Cup different nations will bid for the honour of holding the tournament.

The tournament has grown over the years and there are now spaces for 24 teams to compete. This saw teams competing in six groups of four where the winners and runners automatically made it through to the knockout stages. They were joined by four of the best placed 3^rd positioned teams.

The last 16 games then lead on to the quarter finals, semi finals and final all in a knockout style competition.

News that the 2020 tournament would be held across a number of European countries was met with a mixed reception as it could be difficult for fans to travel and organise through the progression of their teams.

Since 1960 the two most successful teams in the European Championships have been Germany and Spain with 3 titles each, The following list shows you the year and winners of the competition;

1960

Soviet Union

1964

Spain

1968

Italy

1972

West Germany

1976

Czechoslovakia

1980

West Germany

1984

France

1988

Netherlands

1992

Denmark

1996

Germany

2000

France

2004

Greece

2008

Spain

2012

Spain

2016

Portugal

Coverage

Despite being the UEFA European Championships, the tournament is still popular around the world with millions tuning in. Because of this broadcasters can command a lot through sponsorship, much like the World Cup.

Player Records

The top goal scorers in the European Championships are Ronald and Michel Platini who are both on 9 goals in total. Christiano Ronaldo also holds the title for the most tournament appearances playing 21 times between 2004 and 2016.

The youngest player to appear at the championships was Jetro Willems who was 18 years and 71 days when he appeared against Denmark in 2012.  At 18 years and 328 days, Renato Sanchez is the youngest player to have featured in a final when he played for Portugal against France in 2016.

The oldest player to have played in the UEFA European Championships was also in 2016. Gabor Kiraly, the eccentric Hungarian goalkeeper famed for his grey jogging bottoms played against Austria at the age of 40 years and 74 days. Jens Lehmann was the oldest to appear in the final when he played for Germany against Spain in 2008.