People's EURO rises again

With Spanish representatives Vasca still basking in glory after success at last summer's finals, the draw for the fifth UEFA Regions' Cup takes place in Nyon, Switzerland on 15 March.

Europe's best
A total of 37 countries have applied to participate in the 2006/07 competition which brings together Europe's best amateur teams. Vasca from Spain's Basque Country took the crown, which is contested by regional rather than club sides, in July 2005 after a terrific tournament in Poland.

Silent majority
With 95 per cent of Europe's registered footballers operating as amateurs, the UEFA Regions' Cup gives the unheralded majority a chance to experience continental competition and play under the kind of conditions usually reserved for top professionals.

For love
Freed from the tyranny of day jobs for the eight-team final round, players share the same hotel, train and eat together, and the result is one of the hidden highlights of the UEFA calendar - a tournament played for love, not money.

Incredible opportunity
UEFA Youth and Amateur Committee chairman Jim Boyce, who will conduct the draw along with former Juventus and BV Borussia Dortmund player Paulo Sousa, said: "[The UEFA Regions' Cup] represents the vast majority of players and it is giving them an opportunity they probably thought they would never have."

Long road
The route to the 2007 finals will involve a preliminary round and an intermediary round, both of which will be contested as four-team mini-tournaments, before the final round is staged at a yet-to-be decided venue in summer 2007.

'No losers'
If the 2006/07 edition proves as memorable an event as its predecessor, a place in the finals will be well worth fighting for. "Here we have a lot of lads from different countries coming together and making new friends," said Boyce. "In these circumstances, there really are no losers."