Courtesy: UEFA.com

Full steam ahead for Porto finals

Friday, 14 July 2006

Final preparations are being put to plans for the 2007 UEFA European Futsal Championship to be played in Portugal between 16 and 25 November next year.

October draw
UEFA has invited national associations to submit their entries by 25 August and, with the increased interest shown in the 2006/07 UEFA Futsal Cup for club teams, a record number of countries are expected to take part. The qualifying phase draw, to determine the groupings for the preliminary and qualifying rounds, will take place from 14.00CET on 2 October at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Only the host nation will not have to qualify, meaning seven other places at the finals will be up for grabs for participating teams.

Porto stage
The preliminary round is scheduled to take place between 15 and 21 January and is for the lowest-ranked nations and any newcomers. Those winning through will take their place with the élite countries in the qualifying round to be played out between 18 and 25 February. The seven triumphant teams will then go forward to the finals in Porto. The main match venue will be the impressive 4,500-seater Rosa Mota Hall, which is set in the picturesque surroundings of the botanical gardens within the city centre. A second match hall, with a 3,500 capacity, will be located in the Porto suburb of Matosinhos.

Fifth finals
The 2007 finals will be the fifth official UEFA championship for national teams, with the first being held in Granada, Spain in 1999 when Russia were victorious. The holders then staged the next event two years later in Moscow, with the Spanish this time finishing on top. Italy became the first host nation to triumph when they staged the 2003 event in Caserta and Aversa before Spain claimed the title again at the 2005 finals held in the Czech Republic in February. Looking ahead to the 2009 edition, UEFA has reacted to Futsal’s growing popularity by approving a 12-team final round.



Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com