Euro bid fights for limelight
The organisers of Switzerland and Austria's joint bid to stage the 2008 European football championships will also be presenting their arguments in Stockholm.
In language that is likely to be less vitriolic than that of Messrs Blatter and Johansson, the Swiss-Austrian bid team are set to show off their credentials at the UEFA congress, along with their six rival bidders.
The competing teams will have the chance to display their bids in the style of a trade fair, with each team being given their own stand. The Swiss-Austrian delegation hope to impress the UEFA members with a video show, detailed documents and even some samples of both nations’ cuisine.
The congress offers a rare chance to present the bids to the entire UEFA family. There will be a further opportunity in mid-August when official inspections take place, with the final vote due to be held in December.
Switzerland and Austria’s rivals include a four-nation bid from Scandinavia (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden), as well as joint candidates from Scotland and Ireland, Greece and Turkey, and Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Russia and Hungary are the only countries to be bidding separately for the championships.
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