UEFA defends tournament expansion to 24 teams

After a group stage he reached the wire in Poland and Ukraine, being the favorite with the press of Spain and Germany until the last minute, the concern is the extended version in France, in four years will not be the most controversial.

UEFA president Michel Platini, has defended the decision to extend earlier this week and pressured journalists Kallen 2012, the tournament director on the subject at a press conference on Friday.

"We currently have the best team here, but there are not that great teams," he said, listing Switzerland, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Slovenia and Norway as examples.

"The Scots are also here - .. It takes a lot of emotions, lots of atmosphere with them as we see 2016 as the tournament will be seen more and more by the fact that most countries can participate," he added Kallen.

Also broke new questions about the empty seats in a series of games in Poland and Ukraine, where the interest has taken a beating tournament by eliminating the two host countries in the group stage for the second tournament running .

Kallen said that all the matches played so far been sold and that the gaps in the stadium were due to fans who purchased tickets may not be able to choose or not to travel. This has always been a problem in tournaments, he said.

"If you have a team or two teams (host) that the quarterfinals of the course is best," he said.

"Here the two teams were very close to leave their groups in Switzerland and Austria, were somewhat" less close, but our part is assigned a point at which the euro countries that in the quarter. end. "

He also said the economic crisis by incorporating a number of countries are competing teams in the league this year has had a clear effect on the number of traveling fans.

"The financial crisis in terms of revenue (UEFA) have reported very high levels, if you look at the sponsorship and the next transmission in 2008 and 2004, and can not always have much income Besides this, "he said.

"What we see (is) that some countries in economic crisis unless the fans went to Poland and Ukraine, because they have the financial means to come here."

UEFA Euro 2012 is expected to generate around € 1345 billion ($ 1.70 billion) in revenue, a figure slightly lower than the final 1351000000 registered in Austria and Switzerland.