Competition format
Wednesday 13 July 2005
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Photos/Wallpapers »The first UEFA European Futsal Championship was staged in 1999 although an unofficial version of the competition was played in January 1996, in Cordoba, Spain. It was won by the hosts and they have since established themselves as the continent's leading futsal power. It was the success of the 1996 event that helped persuade the UEFA Executive Committee, in April 1997, to formally introduce a full-scale championship.
From 1999 until 2007 the biennial final tournament involved eight teams, including the hosts. By 2005, there were enough entries to justify a preliminary round before main qualifying, to reduce the number of teams to 28 teams, competing in seven groups. However, for the 2009 finals in Hungary, the finals have been expanded to 12 teams with the format to be confirmed.
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