Givens looks forward to U-21 championship facelift

REPUBLIC of Ireland U-21 manager Don Givens is already focusing on the next European Championship qualifying campaign, which is to be given a makeover by UEFA.

European football’s governing body are eager to make the competition more high profile, with their first step to switch the tournament away from World Cup and senior European Championship years.

After next summer’s U-21 finals, the subsequent event will be in 2007, and then every two years beyond that, ensuring the spotlight will be firmly on this age group in any given year rather than senior competitions.