Nail Biting Finish

Last updated : 11 December 2002 By Ed_ScottishFitba

The presentations from the 7 bidders are going on right now with the final decision on who will host EURO2008 to be announced tomorrow (Thursday). All eyes will be focussed on Intercontinental Hotel where UEFA President Lennart Johansson will announce the name of the successful bid. The announcement, which is expected late on Thursday morning, follows months if not years of preparations by the bidding counties, with UEFA's supreme executive body, the Executive Committee, making the final verdict.

The 7 bidders are making their final presentations to the joint UEFA Executive Committee and UEFA National Teams Committee this afternoon (Wednesday). The Committee will meet again tomorrow morning when the eight eligible committee members will discuss who loses out to reduce the seven bids to two or three. Once this difficult choice has been made has been made, all Executive Committee members not related to the remaining bids will join the discussion and may take part in the decision. The committee members will hold a vote, and the bid that receives an absolute majority (half plus one vote of the eligible members) will be designated as the hosts of EURO2008.

Whose is the ring binder bid, second from the left at the top?
If a clear cut decision is not reached, the bidder with the lowest vote will be eliminated. A final vote will take place between the two remaining bidders, with the bid winning the highest vote emerging successful. If no decision is reached under this procedure, the chairman will have the casting vote. That means that UEFA President Lennart Johansson could have two votes – or indeed none.

UEFA Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner said that he had been very impressed by the quality of the bids saying: "The member associations have become very professional in presenting bids, and governments have understood the importance of big sporting events for the image of their country and for the economy, so we have a much higher impact compared to 15 or 20 years ago". Ainger went on: "The bidders are under more pressure to win, and we will have some disappointed parties. This is a shame - but this is not going to be the last European Championship. The ones who do not win now could win it next time."


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Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba.net)
Vanderhogg (vanderhogg@scottishfitba.net)

Special correspondents
Al McIntosh (Al@scottishfitba.net)

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