UEFA and Portugal celebrate EURO 2004™ draw

UEFA and Portugal’s football and political authorities have joined forces to commemorate the official EURO 2004™ qualifying competition draw.

Footballing adventure
Dignitaries gathered at an official dinner on the eve of Friday’s draw, which will take place at Europarque in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal, to mark the start of what UEFA President Lennart Johansson called “a great footballing adventure”.

Road to the final round
Portugal will host the final round of European football’s blue-riband competition for national teams in the summer of 2004, and the road to the final tournament begins in earnest with Friday’s eagerly-awaited draw ceremony.

Great pleasure
“These championships have now become the third most important sporting event in the world,” said Lennart Johansson in his address. “It gives me great pleasure to embrace our Portuguese colleagues as the hosts for the finals in two years’ time.”

Passion and commitment
“This is a great footballing nation with a passion and commitment to our game that is obvious to all of us,” he added. “I also know the tremendous pride that the whole of Portugal feels, and the hard work and the energy that our colleagues in the Portuguese federation and the Portuguese government have already brought together in their partnership with UEFA on behalf of the European football family – I have the feeling that this will be a very special tournament.”

Great sensation
The president of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), Gilberto Parca Madaíl, said: “To host the European Championship is a sensation that only those who have had it in the past can feel – for us, Portuguese, it constitutes something hard to describe.”

Hope for smaller countries
“Portugal and the FPF deserved it, showing the world how countries with a smaller dimension can, from now on, hope for something similar,” he added.

Growth and prosperity
Portugal’s sports minister José Lello expressed his “appreciation and gratitude” to all involved – football officials, government bodies and UEFA. He added that the mobilisation and self-esteem of the Portuguese people, allied to the commitment and determination of the state and local EURO 2004 promoters, would help provide Portugal with sports structures enabling “a new era of growth and prosperity”.

National and local benefits
The mayor of Porto, Rui Rio, said that EURO 2004™ would be “an event of great sporting, tourist and economic importance for Portugal.” He added that Porto as a city, and Portugal as a whole would also benefit from the event in terms of sports practice and new facilities, which, he said, would bring “higher levels of quality, comfort and security”.