Spain’s 4th EURO win and the History of UEFA

The UEFA Euro 2024 has ended, with Spain emerging victorious and securing their fourth championship title.

Spain took on England in the UEFA EURO 2024 final as they both battled until the end for the Henri Delaunay Cup at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.

Spain is now the most prosperous nation in the championship, with its fourth continental tournament win, after beating England 2-1 in the final on Sunday, July 14th. These four-time champions of Europe won the tournament in 1964, 2008, 2012, and now in 2024.

The stars of the UEFA EURO 2024

Rodri has been named UEFA Euro Player of the Tournament, an award given to the top-performing player. This tradition has been in place at the UEFA European Championship since 1996.

The Player of the Tournament award is decided by UEFA technical observers analysing games closely from the start.

These observers include Fabio Capello, Rafael Benitez, and Frank de Boer. They compile data-driven reports on the games and select the Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament for every game.

Previous UEFA EURO Player of the Tournament Winners:

• Matthias Sammer – Germany 1996
• Zinedine Zidane – France 2000
• Theodoros Zagorakis – Greece 2004
• Xavi Hernandez – Spain 2008
• Andres Iniesta – Spain 2012
• Antoine Griezmann – France 2016
• Gianluigi Donnarumma – Italy 2020

The young sensation of EURO 2024

However, after EURO 2024, the world is most interested in one name - the 17-year-old Spain’s Lamine Yamal, who won the Young Player of the Tournament award. This kid also happens to win the Goal of the Tournament. And we can all agree on that!

EURO 2024 was incredible for this young player, and we look forward to seeing what is coming next for him. Most predict that he will follow in the footsteps of his idol, Leonel Messi, who meanwhile showed his emotional side while leaving the Copa América final due to what seemed to be an injury.

Where did it all begin?

The UEFA European Championship is easily one of this year's most significant sporting events. Over the past 4 years, we have been looking forward to the UEFA Euro, knowing there will be plenty of action, goals, and exciting developments on the field.

The French sports newspaper L’Equipe proposes that home and away matches be played midweek evenings. Henri Delaunay, the first UEFA General Secretary and former French national association general secretary, supported the idea.

In 1927, Delaunay submitted his proposal to FIFA alongside Austrian official Hugo Meisl to create and run the European Cup concurrently with the World Cup. This would involve a qualifying competition every two years.

According to Delaunay, the idea was to create a competition open to all European associations. He said that the problem was entrusted to and examined by a three-member committee. He believed that the competition should not result in an infinite number of matches or harm the World Cup in any way. One concern was not having to force participants to meet the same group of opponents.

After Delaunay passed away in 1955, his son Pierre became part of the French journalist team, driving the initiation of the European Nations Cup. He was later appointed the European Nations Cup Organising Committee secretary, which allowed him to observe things up close and keep an eye on the competition, ensuring it blossomed the way his father intended.

The first tournament was entered by about half of the UEFA’s member associations, making it 17 in total - one more than the minimum requirement. Czechoslovakia eliminated the Republic of Ireland in the qualifying play-off in this tournament.

The first proper match was held on 28 September 1958 in Central Stadium, Moscow, where the USSR beat Hungary 3-1. The competition lasted 22 months between 1958 and 1960.

A new era begins

In September 1991, the decision was made to revamp the European Champions Clubs Cup. It was replaced with the UEFA Champions League, which has captured millions of fans worldwide.

With the turn of the decade and the break-up of the Soviet Union, a host of new and independent national football associations across Eastern Europe received help, especially in terms of infrastructure.

In the early 2000s, UEFA recognised the need to extend its scope of partnerships to cover the entire European football community. From here, the relationship with stakeholders intensified, and cooperation agreements were established with Europe’s clubs, leagues, and players’ bodies.

The early 2000s also saw a restructuring of the administration, with General Secretary Gerhard Aigner taking on the new role of Chief Executive. Two years later, Swede Lars-Christer Olsson replaced Aigner as chief executive, who retired in the 50th year of UEFA’s existence. Of the 50 years, Aigner spent 33 years serving European football.

During its 60th anniversary in 2014, UEFA made greater progress in uniting the wider European football community, with a greater focus on club licensing, financial fair play, and cooperation with EU political organisations.

Results from previous championships

Nowadays, we can see a lot of potential in the underdogs, like Georgia, the debutant of this year's championship. However, over the years, we can see who the giants are in this game. If you are unaware, let's look at the finals' results in the past 84 years.

• 1960 – USSR vs Yogoslavia 2-1
• 1964 – Spain vs USSR 2-1
• 1968 – Italy vs Yugoslavia 2-0
• 1972 – West Germany vs USSR 3-0
• 1976 – Czechoslovakia vs West Germany 2-2
• 1980 – West Germany vs Belgium 2-1
• 1984 – France vs Spain 2-0
• 1988 – Netherlands vs USSR 2-0
• 1992 – Denmark vs Germany 2-0
• 1996 – Germany vs Czech Republic 2-1
• 2000 – France vs Italy 2-1
• 2004 – Greece vs Portugal 1-0
• 2008 – Spain vs Germany 1-0
• 2012 – Spain vs Italy 4-0
• 2016 – Portugal vs France 1-0
• 2020 – Italy vs England 1-1 (Italy beat England on penalties)

And now we get to add the 2024 UEFA results to the list, with Spain beating England 2-1. Making it their 4th win and the most wins by any team since the start of the tournament.