7. The most competitive

football Euro

In 2016, the European football championship, which will take place in France, will take a little more scale. 24 teams will participate in the finals for the first time. This is a small evolution for the event created in 1960 with four nations, but it could challenge what makes it strong: its competitiveness.New players in PSL 2018

Which plays in his favor

The Euro is sometimes considered the most important international football competition in the world. "There is one less game to win but it's harder to win a Euro, because it's harder to get out of the hens than during the World Cup," said Laurent Blanc, coach of the team. France in 2012 . Winning a European Championship is tricky. There is the gratin of European football, which is currently not far from the gratin of world football. " This" gratin "of football allows the competition to attract fans from around the world. For Euro 2016, the organizers estimate that 45% of the demand for tickets comes from abroad, with 200 countries represented .

What's missing

The number of participants

in the final stages of the Euro

since 1960

The Euro remains a fairly closed competition. Although the qualifications are available to 54 nations for the 2016 edition, only 28 have already participated in a final phase since 1960. Twelve of them have never done better than three participations. The equivalent in South America, the Copa America, has already invited six non-South American teams to participate in the competition: Mexico (9 participations), Costa Rica (4), the United States (3), the Jamaica (1), Honduras (1) and Japan (1). This opening, the Euro has never attempted. But it is inflaming Michel Platini.

Our opinion

Although it will never be a pure world event, it has not yet reached the end of its potential.