This is the right and unique moment for Portugal

Portugal's final presentation of their bid to the UEFA Executive Committee and Committee for the European Championship concentrated on the guarantees that the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) and government have made as they stated that their country was ready to assume the responsibility for staging EURO 2004™.

'We want, we can, we deserve' - Cruz
A nation will hold its breath, the assembled UEFA dignitaries were informed, as Portugal waits to see if their country will host EURO 2004™. The project, which was born as a national project, has subsequently grown in the past 12 months to become a national desire.
"Our objective was to answer all the questions people had to ask of us," Carlos Cruz, the FPF spokesperson, said. "We wanted to show everyone that there was no trace of doubt about our conviction to stage this event. We want EURO 2004™, we can do it, and we think we deserve to do it."

Right moment
The Portuguese bid states that all the construction and renovation work needed to their stadia will be completed by Summer 2003, and that the funding required to carry out such work has already been guaranteed.
"We asked ourselves all the questions we had in mind, and then proceeded to answer them," Cruz said. "And even then, I didn't have any doubts? We are serious about this. We will be proud. We are reliable, and we have guarantees. But we have even more! Our government stands as guarantor for all the necessary funding needed for us to stage the event.
"We are ready to assume the responsibility for staging this event. Both the FPF as an organisation and the government with its resources have proved to be competent bodies. This leads me to believe that now is the right and unique moment for Portugal."