Been expects finals to remember

Been pride
Speaking as tickets went on sale for the eight-team tournament, to be played at four venues in the country between 10 and 23 June, Been, the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) general secretary, said: "I am proud of this country. When we presented our tournament bid to UEFA we were able to show them finished stadiums, not plans of stadiums which needed to be built especially for it. The KNVB does not deserve praise for this, but the football culture of the clubs and people."

'Football nation'
He continued: "The Netherlands is a football nation, and the people want to attend matches at stadiums. Now this tournament has been pulled out of the shadow of the main championships, it will be the biggest event of 2007." Been was in Portugal last summer both to learn more about the organisation of the competition and to see Foppe de Haan's Jong Oranje team lift the trophy. "When you've been at an U21 finals you know how fantastic it can be," he said. "We want to make it even more beautiful than last year - even if we don't have the Portuguese weather."

Low prices
Been kick-started the sale of tickets to the public by presenting one to tournament ambassador Frank de Boer - a former Netherlands captain who knows a thing or two about the thrills and spills of tournament football - for the hosts' opening match against Israel at the Abe Lenstra Stadium in Heerenveen on Sunday 10 June. Tickets will be sold exclusively on uefa.com initially before hitting Ticketbox outlets across the Netherlands from April, with prices ranging from €10-20 for group games, €15-25 for the semis and €20-30 for the final in Groningen.

'Full stadiums'
"We had a lot of requests from the host clubs to sell tickets through their regular channels but the tickets have to be available for fans worldwide," Been said. "A tournament such as this deserves full stadiums, and that's why we're keeping prices low - we want to give everyone the opportunity to experience it."