UEFA General Secretary David Taylor said "preparations are on track" for UEFA EURO 2008™ ahead of Sunday's final-round draw in Lucerne. Mr Taylor took a break from a hectic schedule to give his thoughts to uefa.com.
uefa.com: Does the draw bring into focus how near the final tournament actually is?
David Taylor: From a sporting point of view, the teams are desperately interested in this because of who are they going to play and what their chances are going to be like of progressing in the competition. From an organisational perspective, it is also going to be important to us, because then we know which teams are going to be based in which cities, which additional measures we will have to take in terms of supporters, and other organisational matters that we will have to attend to, including team training camps and the rest of it. So it is a big day.
uefa.com: How satisfied are you with the progress already made towards UEFA EURO 2008™?
David Taylor: Things are going very well, preparations are on track. We're very pleased with the co-operation we've had from the Austrian and Swiss football associations, communication is good. We can never be complacent about these things; these are major international events, very high profile and nobody is resting on their laurels. We've got a long way to go, but where we are now we are definitely on track.
uefa.com: What sort of atmosphere can we expect at the tournament next summer?
David Taylor: It will be a major showpiece event, and we are going to see that in terms of the presentations within the stadiums, we're going to see fan park concepts, we're going to see city promotions, we're going to have a welcoming fan-friendly festival of football. We're just hoping for good weather, and then everything can be perfect.
uefa.com: What has your experience been here in Lucerne?
David Taylor: It is a lovely setting, a terrific city and a beautiful scene. For me, it brings home what Austria and Switzerland mean, looking at the mountains, the lakes, the ambiance of the place. It's terrific. The scene is now set.
uefa.com: What are the advantages of having two host nations next summer?
David Taylor: There are advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that smaller countries can host a tournament of the magnitude of [UEFA] EURO 2008™. Austria on its own, or Switzerland on its own, could not do that. That's the main benefit. It spreads the football message and the football development experience to more countries. Of course, we then have to make sure that they both work in the same way, but Austria and Switzerland are great co-operators, and it has not been too difficult to make this work. In fact, with the support of the football associations, we have made great progress in all the areas we have had to work in.
No comments:
Post a Comment