New date for EURO fixtures draw

Fourteen countries will be involved in a draw at 14.00CET on 9 March to determine their paths to the UEFA EURO 2008™ finals in Austria and Switzerland.

Seven groups
UEFA's 52 member associations were divided into seven groups in the competition draw on 27 January. All but two of the sections have since confirmed their fixtures for the qualifying tournament, with only the teams in Groups B and E unable to reach an agreement. Group B comprises France, Italy, Ukraine, Scotland, Lithuania, Georgia and the Faroe Islands. Group E features England, Croatia, Russia, Israel, Estonia, F.Y.R. Macedonia and Andorra.

Still time
The fixtures draw had been due to take place this Thursday, but UEFA has put it back seven days due to the week's international matches and a four-day FIFA workshop starting on Sunday. However, UEFA has left it open for the two groups to come to a resolution at any time before the draw. Group E already plans to hold another meeting, following last month's unsuccessful gathering in Zagreb, at UEFA headquarters in Nyon this Friday.

Set fixture list
If a draw is ultimately necessary, UEFA has said: "The matches will take place according to a standard fixture list drawn up by the UEFA administration. The respective positions (A-G) in the fixture list will be allocated to the associations by a draw." The draw procedure will then follow the below format:

• Two bowls (one for Group B and one for Group E), each with seven balls (including letters A-G).
• The associations in a group will be listed in the order in which they were drawn during the qualifying draw in Montreux on 27 January 2006 (see table below).
• The draw starts with Group B. A first ball will be drawn to determine the position of the first-listed association in Group B. Then, a second ball will be drawn to determine the position of the second-listed association in Group B. The draw continues until all associations in Group B have been allocated a position.
• The same procedure will be repeated for Group E.