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Austro-Swiss bid wins Euro 2008
GENEVA, Switzerland (CNN) -- Austria and Switzerland will jointly host the Euro 2008 football tournament. UEFA, European football's governing body, announced the decision on Thursday at its headquarters in Geneva. Other joint bids were made by Scotland-Ireland, Greece-Turkey, Bosnia-Croatia and a Nordic bid involving Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Russia and Hungary were the only single-nation bids. The Austrian/Swiss "Close to You" campaign emphasised their positions at the heart of Europe, make access to the tournament easier to fans from around the continent. Friedrich Stickler, president of the Austrian Football Association, said: "I am deeply touched. "What I have realised is that the contacts with the other bidders have been fair and born from friendship and for me it is something I will never forget." Each nation will provide four host cities -- Basel, Berne, Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland and Salzburg, Vienna, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt in Austria -- with state-of-the-art venues proposed. Austrian government press releases say Euro 2008 would create 6,600 jobs in Austria alone, mostly in construction, and the tourist industry would benefit from at least 300,000 people travelling to Austria for the event. UEFA President Lennart Johansson announced the winner. He said: "I cannot speak highly enough of the effort that has been made. "The process is a tribute to each of the 14 associations involved, and to the political authorities and the fans of football who have given such tremendous backing to their bids. "Over this time, we have also witnessed a great spirit of friendship and co-operation from all of the candidates. "Everyone involved has demonstrated the importance of the European Football Championship to the European football family." Final presentations to the selection committee were completed on Wednesday. Delegations needed to convince UEFA that they will have eight big modern stadiums, efficient transport and adequate budgets to stage the event, held every four years. The winning bid gets the opportunity to cash in on ticket sales, thousands of visiting fans and broadcasting money. The World Cup and the Olympics are the only sporting events that attract a bigger TV audience. "It's a prize worth winning," said John Scott from UK Sport, which backed the Scotland-Ireland bid. "A lot of countries realise the significance of events like these," he told CNN. The championships were jointly hosted for the first time in 2000 in Belgium and The Netherlands. Euro 2004 is being staged in Portugal where France will defend their title.
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