UEFA President expects a 'true festival of football'
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
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UEFA President Michel Platini, speaking at the launch of the UEFA EURO 2016 ticket application phase, said he expects a "passionate celebration of football" next summer.
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UEFA President Michel Platini invited fans to "experience a true festival of football" as 1 million tickets for UEFA EURO 2016 went on sale with a year to go until the final tournament kicks off in France.
Mr Platini symbolically presented French President François Hollande with the first ticket for the tournament on Wednesday. The general public will have a month – until 10 July – to apply in the initial window via www.EURO2016.com. With ticket prices starting at €25 for 43 of the tournament's 51 matches, it is hoped as many supporters as possible will be able to experience the unique atmosphere of a UEFA European Championship.
"I invite everyone to join the UEFA EURO 2016 Rendez-Vous and be part of what promises to be a passionate celebration of football, bringing together fans from all over the world in the beautiful setting of France," said the UEFA President at a ceremony in Paris. "I am pleased that preparations are well under way; the stadiums are magnificent and we will experience a true festival of football in the summer of 2016."
Joined by a number of the ambassadors representing the ten host cities, including UEFA EURO 2000 winnner Fabien Barthez and 1992/93 UEFA Champions League winner Basile Boli, Mr Platini launched the ticket application phase, which will end on 10 July, the date of next year's final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
Before the application window had even opened, some 317,000 people, from 203 countries around the world, had registered their interest by creating an account. Mr Platini acknowledged that the cosmopolitan make-up of those seeking to attend matches mirrored the ambition of seeing an equally broad cross-section of fans during the final tournament.
"That's been the aim from the start," he added. "We tried to do that, and did do that with the 1998 World Cup. It'll be a EURO for the people. We're ready, the country is ready to welcome all the people who will come, to welcome them warmly and give a great impression of France."
Mr Platini also outlined the development of the ten stadiums that will stage games throughout the country, and highlighted the economic impact the event will have, with more than €1bn expected to be generated for the French economy.
The EURO effect will extend well beyond finance, however, with the UEFA Foundation for Children giving 20,000 deprived youngsters the opportunity to see some of the world's best footballers with the '20,000 Children's Smiles' initiative. The project, which will liaise closely with local associations, will mean 400–500 youngsters aged 8–16 from underprivileged backgrounds across France getting tickets to see group games and round of 16 matches.
"We have decided in a very clear fashion to choose one sole area, that of youth and, more specifically, childhood, and to choose a limited number of projects but help them significantly," EURO 2016 SAS president Jacques Lambert explained. "The main objective is to help youngsters in difficulty, defend their rights through access to sport, personal development and the integration of minority groups."
