Six months and counting

By Kevin Ashby

With the start of the 2005 UEFA European Women's Championship six months away to the day, the eight finalists are working to establish friendly fixtures and training programmes which will see them arrive in England in June in prime condition.

Finalists meet
The holders and favourites Germany can look forward to a number of difficult fixtures, including games against China, Canada and fellow finalists Sweden and Norway. Their preparations begin on 28 January with a game against Australia, rapidly followed by matches against Russia and China, who are staging the four-team tournament in Quanzhou.

Algarve Cup
Germany's fixtures against the two Scandinavian sides will take place in Portugal in March, as 12 teams gather for the annual Algarve Cup. Germany, Sweden and Norway will compete alongside the Chinese in Group A, while three more finalists - Denmark, Finland, and France - tackle the might of the United States in Group B. WOMEN'S EURO 2005 hosts England are in Group C alongside Northern Ireland, Portugal and Mexico.

Hoping for more
Italy are the only qualifiers who will not participate in the Algarve, although the Azzurre have scheduled matches against England on 17 February and Denmark at home on 13 April. Italy have the fewest number of games arranged at this date but, like many other countries, are striving to confirm suitable opponents.

Group A venues
The draw for the final tournament takes place at the City of Manchester Stadium on Wednesday 19 January. The home of Manchester City FC will also stage England's opening Group A game on 5 June, with Ewood Park (Blackburn) and Bloomfield Road (Blackpool) also playing host to fixtures in this pool.

New stadium
The four teams drawn in Group B will have the opportunity to play at Deepdale, home of Preston North End FC, as well as the new stadium of rugby league club Warrington Wolves. Both Group B grounds will also stage one semi-final before the final at Ewood Park on 19 June.

Tickets
Tickets will go on sale shortly after the draw, with the Football Association confirming that prices will be affordable for families, with special discounts for all football clubs and schools. The draw will be covered live on uefa.com with reaction following from all the personalities involved.

Fixture schedule (where the venue is not known, 'h' and 'a' indicate home and away)

Denmark 
4 February: China (a)
7 February: China (a)
9 March: Finland (Algarve)
11 March: France (Algarve)
13 March: United States (Algarve)
13 April: Italy (a)
27 April: Switzerland (h)
30 April: Sweden (h)
25 May: Canada (h)
29 May: Training camp

England
10-15 January: Training camp (La Manga)
17 February: Italy (h)
9 March: Northern Ireland (Algarve)
11 March: Portugal (Algarve)
13 March: Mexico (Algarve)

Finland
12-14 January: Training camp (Eerikkilä)
Mid-February: Netherlands (tbc)
9 March: Denmark (Algarve)
11 March: United States (Algarve)
13 March: France (Algarve)

France
1-4 February: Training camp (Clairefontaine)
19 February: Norway (La Manga)
22 February: Norway (La Manga)
9 March: United States (Algarve)
11 March: Denmark (Algarve)
13 March: Finland (Algarve)
13 April: Netherlands (h)
24 April: United States (a)
28 April: Canada (Montreal)

Germany
28 January: Australia (Quanzhou)
30 January: Russia (Quanzhou)
1 February: China (Quanzhou)
9 March: Sweden (Algarve)
11 March: Norway (Algarve)
13 March: China (Algarve)
21 April: Canada (h)
24 April: Canada (h)

Italy
17 February: England (a)
13 April: Denmark (h)

Norway
19-26 January: Training camp (La Manga)
19 February: France (La Manga)
22 February: France (La Manga)
9 March: China (Algarve)
11 March: Germany (Algarve)
13 March: Sweden (Algarve)
1-9 May: Training camp (possible match)
26-31 May: Training camp (possible match)

Sweden
9 March: Germany (Algarve)
11 March: China (Algarve)
13 March: Norway (Algarve)
30 April: Denmark (a)
3 May: Netherlands (h)
29 May: Canada (h)