June 18, 2013
The week's top five must-sees,
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The week's top five must-sees,
delivered to your inbox.
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Description
The UEFA European Championship is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Union of European Football Associations, the sport's European governing body. Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current name in 1968. Starting with the 1996 tournament, specific championships are often referred to in the form "Euro 2012" or whichever year is appropriate.
Prior to entering the tournament all teams other than the host nations compete in a qualifying process. The championship winners earn the opportunity to compete in the following FIFA Confederations Cup, but are not obliged to do so.
The 14 European Championship tournaments have been won by nine different national teams: Germany and Spain each have won three titles, France has two titles, and Soviet Union, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Netherlands, Denmark and Greece have won one title each. To date, Spain are the only side in history to have won consecutive titles, doing so in the 2008 and 2012 editions.
(via Freebase)
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