News APP

NewsApp (Free)

Read news as it happens
Download NewsApp
Home  » Sports » UEFA profit $393m from Euro 2008

UEFA profit $393m from Euro 2008

July 29, 2008 17:15 IST
Get Rediff News in your Inbox:

Euro 2008, co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland, generated a net profit of 250 million euros ($393.7 million) for UEFA, European soccer's governing body said on Tuesday.

UEFA said the money would be used to finance its youth and women's competitions, refereeing and coaching programmes and administrative costs.

Martin Kallen, chief operating officer for the event organisers, said that in comparison with the 2004 finals in Portugal the 2008 event had seen improvements "in almost all areas", including satisfactory television viewing figures, high public transport usage and the lack of any major security incidents.

Organisers said poor weather at the start of the tournament and the black market resale of tickets had been among the less satisfactory aspects.

More than 1.7 million ticket applications were cancelled before the event in connection with the black market, with a further 1,300 tickets cancelled or seized during the tournament itself.

"Clearly the black market remains a problem though," Kallen said. "Despite all our efforts there were many, many tickets that ended up on the black market.

"We will have to look into what we can do about that in the future, although we know it is not something we can ever control one hundred percent."

Get Rediff News in your Inbox:
Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Paris Olympics 2024

India's Tour Of Australia 2024-25