 The European Championship trophy | |
| Founded | 1960 |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe (UEFA) |
| Current champions |  Italy (2nd title) |
| Most successful team(s) |  Germany Spain(3 titles each) |
The UEFA European Championship is an association football competition established in 1960. It is contested by the men's national teams of the members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the sport's European governing body, and takes place every four years.[a]
The European Championship final is the last match of the competition, and the result determines which country's team is declared European champion. It is a one-off match decided in regulation time. In the event of a draw, extra time is played. If scores are then still level, a penalty shoot-out determines the winner,[1] as per the rules since 1976; prior to that, finals still tied after extra time would be replayed, as was the case with the 1968 final. During extra time, the golden goal rule (by which the first team to score won the match) applied in 1996 and 2000, and the silver goal rule (by which a team could win the match by winning the first half of extra time) would have applied in 2004[2] but was not put in practice. The winners are awarded a replica of the trophy (the original remains with UEFA), while the losing finalists (and semi-finalists) are presented with a plaque.[3] Gold and silver medals are awarded to the players of the winning and losing finalists respectively.[4]
Germany and Spain are the most successful teams in the history of the tournament, winning three times each. France and Italy have each won the competition twice, while six other teams, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, and Portugal, have triumphed once. Yugoslavia, Belgium and England have qualified for the final without success.
The winners of the first ever final, held in Paris in 1960, were the Soviet Union, who defeated Yugoslavia 2–1 after extra time, while in the latest one, hosted in London in 2021, Italy won over England on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time.
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- ^ Regulations, p. 10.
- ^ "Golden goal rule downgraded to silver". guardian.co.uk. London: Guardian News and Media. 28 April 2003. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ^ Regulations, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Regulations, p. 4.