Football: UEFA defends 24-team Euros

Says the quality of the game is rising.

WARSAW: Uefa’s controversial decision to expand the European championships from 16 to 24 teams makes sense because the quality of the game is rising, said its outgoing technical director Andy Roxburgh. Roxburgh underlined that the same debate raged back then about the supposed watering-down of the showcase tournament. “That was the last of the eight-team tournaments,” said Roxburgh. “We’re now going to this increased number as standards in Europe are rising all the time.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2012.