Portugal open futsal finals

The UEFA European Futsal Championship kicks off in Porto this evening with the continent's eight strongest nations competing over the next nine days for the trophy.

Opening games
Hosts Portugal launch the finals against 2003 winners Italy at the Multiusos Gondomar Coração de Ouro at 18.30 local time (19.30CET) followed by the other Group A opener between the Czech Republic and first-time qualifiers Romania. The remaining contenders start their campaigns on Saturday, with holders Spain up against Ukraine and 2005 runners-up Russia facing Serbia.

Schedule
The group stage continues with games on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday – when two fixtures will be played at the Pavilhão Desportivo Municipal de Santo Tirso – and the top pair from each pool will progress to next Friday's semi-finals, two days before the final and third-place match. The tournament will be covered live on Eurosport and for the first time games will be streamed on uefa.com and free highlights will also be available on the site.

Veloso backing
Tickets are selling fast for the event, and Sporting Clube de Portugal midfielder Miguel Veloso gave his backing to the event in a recent uefa.com webchat, saying: "I only played futsal in the streets, but it helped me a lot to improve my skills and it is a sport that I like a lot. I will certainly pay attention to these finals, even if it is only on TV."