The successor to the UEFA European Under-16 Championship, which for several years had virtually become the sole property of Spain and Portugal, the first U17 event in 2001/02 was claimed in a surprise triumph by Switzerland.

The Swiss captured the hearts of football lovers with a series of stunning performances that were enough to win the title and prove that they could well be a country to watch in the future. However their immediate U17 successors failed to qualify for the 2003 finals – showing how high standards across the continent have risen and how competitive youth football has become.

Hosts Portugal won that edition, followed by another home team, France, in 2004, with Turkey victorious in Italy a year later and Russia then taking the title in Luxembourg. Spain were champions in Belgium in 2007 and Turkey the following year, and were the dominant force in the old U16 championship; indeed all but the first two of those were under Juan Santisteban, appointed in 1988. He retired after the 2008 triumph and the following year hosts Germany secured the crown.

England broke their duck in 2010 in Liechtenstein, winning all 11 games in their campaign including qualifying. The Netherlands, losers to Germany in the 2009 final, gained revenge two years later with a thrilling 5-2 win in Serbia.

The U16 competition, which began in 1982, was the place where stars such as Thierry Henry and Luís Figo took their first step towards the limelight and from the 2002 inaugural U17 edition alone the likes of Switzerland's Philippe Senderos, England's Wayne Rooney and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo have already begun to follow in their footsteps.

While the Iberian sides have dominated the U16 and U17 tournaments over the years, with eight Spanish triumphs (six at U16 level) and five by the Portuguese, Germany with three wins – two in the U16 even including one as West Germany – have also a fine pedigree at this level. Switzerland, Republic of Ireland, Turkey, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Italy and the Soviet Union all lifted the U16 trophy on one occasion each.