Competition

UEFA European Championship

Continental Championships

The UEFA European Championship, commonly called the Euros, is European football's championship for national teams, organized by UEFA and first played in 1960 under the name European Nations' Cup; the Soviet Union won that inaugural tournament, beating Yugoslavia 2 to 1 in the final. Held every four years, in the even-numbered year between FIFA World Cup tournaments, the competition expanded from four finalists in its earliest editions to eight from 1980, sixteen from 1996, and twenty four teams in its current format. It was renamed the European Championship in 1968, and Spain is its most successful side with four titles, including back-to-back wins in 2008 and 2012, the only team to have won consecutive tournaments.

Facts

Founding Year

1960 2

Founding Date

1960-07-10 2

Date of the final of the inaugural 1960 European Nations Cup at the Parc des Princes in Paris, the Soviet Union defeating Yugoslavia 2 to 1 after extra time; qualifying for that first edition had begun in 1958.

Frequency

Every four years, in the even-numbered year between FIFA World Cup tournaments. 2

Host History

First tournament: France, 1960; won by the Soviet Union, beating Yugoslavia 2 to 1. Originally contested as the European Nations' Cup. 2

Classification

Scope

Continental 1

Frequency

Frequency (category)

Every Four Years 2

Learn More

A Cup Renamed

This article records tradition as it has been passed down and reported. Its sources are not yet part of the atlas's verified catalogue.

The tournament now called the UEFA European Championship did not start under that name. When it was first played in 1960, in France, it was called the European Nations' Cup, and it stayed that way for its first two editions before UEFA renamed it the European Championship in 1968. The Soviet Union won that first, differently named tournament, beating Yugoslavia 2 to 1 in the final, in a competition that fielded just four finalists, a fraction of the twenty four that qualify for the modern tournament. The field grew in stages rather than all at once: eight teams from 1980, doubling again to sixteen from 1996, and growing by half again to the current twenty four in the most recent expansion.

Back to Back: Spain's Unmatched Run

This article records tradition as it has been passed down and reported. Its sources are not yet part of the atlas's verified catalogue.

Spain holds the UEFA European Championship record with four titles, the most of any nation, but the number that actually separates Spain from the rest of the field is smaller and more specific: Spain is the only team ever to have won the tournament in consecutive editions, doing it in 2008 and again in 2012. Every other multiple champion in the competition's history has had its titles spaced apart by at least one tournament somebody else won in between. In a competition held only every four years, with a field that has grown from four finalists at its 1960 founding as the European Nations' Cup to twenty four teams today, winning once is already difficult; winning twice with no gap at all is a record nobody else in the tournament's history has matched.

Connections

Administered By

UEFA

Source Wikipedia, UEFA European Championship

Competitors Include

Adrien Rabiot

Source Adrien Rabiot (Wikipedia)

Alan Dzagoev

Source Alan Dzagoev (Wikipedia)

Aleksandr Kokorin

Source Aleksandr Kokorin (Wikipedia)

Alessandro Del Piero

Source Alessandro Del Piero (Wikipedia)

Alfreð Finnbogason

Source Alfreð Finnbogason (Wikipedia)

André-Pierre Gignac

Source André-Pierre Gignac (Wikipedia)

Angelos Charisteas

Source Angelos Charisteas (Wikipedia)

Anthony Réveillère

Stated in the cited Wikipedia article.

Source Anthony Réveillère (source article)

Antonio Candreva

Source Antonio Candreva (Wikipedia)

Ashley Young

Source Ashley Young (Wikipedia)

Bacary Sagna

Source Bacary Sagna (Wikipedia)

Bafétimbi Gomis

Source Bafetimbi Gomis (Wikipedia)

Bernd Schuster

Source Bernd Schuster (Wikipedia)

Birgit Prinz

Source Birgit Prinz (Wikipedia)

Bixente Lizarazu

Source Bixente Lizarazu (Wikipedia)

Blaise Matuidi

Source Blaise Matuidi (Wikipedia)

Carles Puyol

Source Carles Puyol (Wikipedia)

Chris Smalling

Source Chris Smalling (Wikipedia)

Christian Maggio

Source Christian Maggio (Wikipedia)

Cristiano Ronaldo

Source Wikipedia, Cristiano Ronaldo

Dani Güiza

Source Dani Güiza (Wikipedia)

David Alaba

Source David Alaba (Wikipedia)

David Beckham

Source Wikipedia, David Beckham

Dries Mertens

Source Dries Mertens (Wikipedia)

Eder (footballer, born 1987)

Source Eder (footballer, born 1987) (Wikipedia)

Emilio Butragueño

Source Emilio Butragueño (Wikipedia)

Emre Can

Source Emre Can (Wikipedia)

Eric Abidal

Source Eric Abidal (Wikipedia)

Felix Magath

Source Felix Magath (Wikipedia)

Francesco Totti

Source Francesco Totti (Wikipedia)

Gaël Clichy

Source Gaël Clichy (source article)

Gerard Piqué

Source Gerard Piqué (Wikipedia)

Gerd Müller

Source Gerd Müller (Wikipedia)

Gigi Riva

Source Gigi Riva (Wikipedia)

Günter Netzer

Source Günter Netzer (source article)

Hakan Balta

Source Hakan Balta (Wikipedia)

Hamit Altıntop

Source Hamit Altıntop (Wikipedia)

Iker Casillas

Source Iker Casillas (Wikipedia)

Iulian Filipescu

Source Iulian Filipescu (Wikipedia)

Jérémy Ménez

Source Jérémy Ménez (Wikipedia)

Jérémy Toulalan

Source Jérémy Toulalan (Wikipedia)

Jérôme Rothen

Source Jérôme Rothen (Wikipedia)

Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson

Source Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson (Wikipedia)

Jordan Henderson

Source Jordan Henderson (Wikipedia)

Kakha Kaladze

Source Kakha Kaladze (Wikipedia)

Karel Poborský

Source Karel Poborský (Wikipedia)

Karim Benzema

Source Karim Benzema (Wikipedia)

Karlheinz Förster

Source Karlheinz Förster (Wikipedia)

Laurent Koscielny

Source Laurent Koscielny (Wikipedia)

Maniche

Source Maniche (Wikipedia)

Showing 1 to 50 of 84 in Competitors Include, page 1 of 2.

Features

Association Football

Source Wikipedia, UEFA European Championship

Long-Form Articles

A Cup Renamed

Source Wikipedia, UEFA European Championship

Back to Back: Spain's Unmatched Run

Source Wikipedia, UEFA European Championship

Sources

1. Wikipedia, 1960 European Nations' Cup Final

Wikipedia

Lead section
The final was played on 10 July 1960 at the Parc des Princes
Introduction
The 1960 European Nations' Cup final was a football match played at Parc des Princes in Paris, France, on 10 July 1960, to determine the winners of the 1960 European Nations' Cup.