Now that that's over, time for Euro 2016...

Euro 2012 was set to end in Kiev on Sunday with a mouth-watering final between holder Spain and Italy. But thoughts are already turning to the next edition, in France in 2016.

The main change from this time round will be that the number of teams will increase from the current 16 to 24.

Euro 2016 in France is causing few worries for European soccer's governing body UEFA after organizing the tournament in Poland and Ukraine caused some headaches but finally went off well.

Which stadiums will be used, though, remains more troublesome.

Eleven grounds were initially chosen, but with Nancy pulling out there are now 10: Paris, Saint-Denis, Lille, Lens, Lyon, Saint-Etienne, Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux and Toulouse. The recent decision of Paris Saint-Germain to remain at a renovated Parc des Princes lifted one doubt about the availability of stadiums in 2016.

But two others remain: in Lens, where the funding of refurbishment is posing a problem, and in Lyon, where the general interest statement for the proposed stadium could be cancelled.

UEFA president Michel Platini said in March, however, he is not concerned.

"We know we can do it with nine or eight stadiums," he said.

The European championships will be played for the first time with 24 teams.

There are 53 national federations in UEFA, which means that nearly half its members will take part in the group stages of the finals.

That virtually guarantees the presence of all the major soccer nations on the continent, but quality could be affected.

This year, only the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland, who played in the hardest-fought groups, finished the group phase with three defeats.

With only one organizing country and more participants, the major powers are theoretically better protected from the risk of being drawn in a "group of death".

But the worry is seeing a pool phase where only the cream rises to the top, with interest in only the best 16 teams fighting it out from the quarterfinal stage.

The other question mark hangs over the qualification system for the quarterfinals, which has not yet been decided.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 07/02/2012 page23)