Losing bidders should ‘try again’

UEFA chief executive Gerhard Aigner has urged the losing bidders in the race for Euro 2008 to consider lodging a bid for 2012.

Aigner has been impressed with the bids, which include a joint bid from Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

But the UEFA supremo believes any of the losing candidates from Thursday's announcement can bounce back for the next round of bidding for 2012.

told www.uefa.com: "The member associations have become very professional in presenting bids, and governments have understood the importance of big sporting events for the image of their country and for the economy," said Aigner.

"The bidders are under more pressure to win, and we will have some disappointed parties. This is a shame but this is not going to be the last European Championship. The ones who do not win now could win it next time."

The quality of the competing bids has been extremely high, Mr Aigner said. Given the benefits for the successful bidder in terms of prestige and economic opportunities, the UEFA chief executive is not surprised by such developments.

"The economic background of the competition is a very solid one," he said. "I can understand why the member associations are not hesitant in bidding, and maybe somewhere they also feel confident about working with UEFA."

He added that the European Championship is the perfect encapsulation of the importance of national teams to the future of football.

"I think there cannot be any doubt national teams are of immense importance for the development of the game in general," he said.

"The national teams draw support from a public which does not normally follow football. The fact we have a great mixture in the club teams coming from various countries has enhanced the overall interest in the European Championship.

"It is the tournament of the whole football continent, and that is why we are also happy to show it free on TV."

That some players have chosen club ahead of country as they pursue their career path, rather than balancing the two, is a source of some disappointment for UEFA's chief executive.

"Unfortunately today we have players who do not understand the importance of their national teams," he said.

"The clubs are offering enormous income to players, and since the fight for a place in the national team is not always an easy one, sometimes players avoid the confrontation and withdraw to the clubs. But they certainly miss the big challenge of the national team, and that's a shame."