euro2008.com launches successfully

The official UEFA EURO 2008™ website, euro2008.com, has launched in beta format, marking 100 days to go until the tournament kicks off in Austria and Switzerland.

Match coverage
The website, produced fully in-house by UEFA through its subsidiary UEFA Media Technologies, will feature ten languages as the focal point of an exhaustive content package covering all aspects of the tournament. "Our initial focus will be the coverage of the 31 matches themselves," said David Farrelly, head of web and content at UEFA Media Technologies. "But we also aim to enhance users' experience with live video streamed worldwide, live audio, live text and photo match coverage, up-to-the-minute news, games, exclusive interviews, blogs and eyewitness reports from across Austria and Switzerland. In addition, there will be a near-live mobile service for fans on the move and a complete video-on-demand service for fans who miss the games or who want to relive all the key moments."

Detailed information
Officially launching in March, euro2008.com will become the natural focus for fans seeking official tournament news, squad announcements, injury updates as well as all-important venue and travel information – including details on all eight host cities, vodcast guides, journey planners and mapping solutions. The site will also reflect the competition's glorious past via match reports on all 173 final tournament games since 1960, together with video match highlights packages and interviews with all the stars and personalities from the European Championship's rich history.

Comprehensive coverage
Produced by the team behind uefa.com, the official UEFA website will offer the most comprehensive coverage of UEFA's blue-riband national team competition. With 130 correspondents, editors, producers, cameramen, translators and interpreters on site, euro2008.com will also reflect the wealth of possibilities provided by the internet in terms of content delivery and the integration of an interactive community with personalised features. It will appeal to both the fans on site – and to a committed online audience worldwide.

Fan voice
"We are continuously looking at all innovations in our medium," added Farrelly. "On this occasion, we have looked at a range of features to give more voice to the fans, not only in raising their contribution to the event, but also to make the site theirs, to increase their feeling of ownership of the event. In this way, we will be inviting not only more interaction and participation, but also a range of possibilities for fans to customise the site according to their team, their location or their core interests. Don't only expect emotions off line, but a range of surprises and innovations online."

Converged content
UEFA Media Technologies CEO Alexandre Fourtoy insisted that this behind the scenes approach will be the driving force behind such an operation. He said: "The website will be fully representative of the converged world in which we live today because it will deeply interlink the video, audio, text and photo content the user can experience. "

Beta launch
The site launches officially in March and is currently in beta mode. Fourtoy said: "For now, the site is in beta format. You could say that it is our basic site as we are still 100 days from the event and we still have a lot more to prepare. But as you can already see through our involvement with the sponsors, our focus has been on how the fans interact with euro2008.com and that means providing innovation within the boundaries of a high traffic website."