Agencies / Navhind Times

Lisbon Nov 7: Portugal is gearing up to for the big celebration of football - Euro 2004. It will be the biggest international sporting event ever staged in Portugal. With stadia being remodelled and the organisers working overtime the Championship promises to be an unforgettable event.Portugal will kick off the big event with eight pristine stadiums. The Portuguese Football Federation is preparing “for a celebration of football which, from the first kick-off to the final whistle at the European Championship final in the 65,000-capacity Da Luz stadium, promises to dazzle and delight all who witness it.”  From 12 June to 4 July 2004, Portugal is expected to be the centre of the sporting world as the final tournament takes place. Europe’s top 16 national teams will compete for the Henri Delaunay Trophy.  The planning and organisation of one of the world’s biggest sporting occasions is well underway. A company Euro 2004, SA, a joint venture between UEFA and the Portuguese Football Federation, has been set up to organise the event.  It will feature 31 matches in ten venues, stretching from Faro/Louli in the Algarve to northern venues such as Porto and Braga.

The mascot of the tournament has been named Kinas. With a lust for life and an all-encompassing passion for football, rumour has it that Kinas was born in a small, remote, Portuguese village with a supernatural gift which saw him assume the knowledge and craft of all great footballers, past and present. His talent for football was apparent at an early age, as he carried a ball with him everywhere and staggered his friends by his ability to execute the most sublime pieces of skill. Kinas took delight in the achievements of Portuguese legends Eusebio and Luis Figo, but his greatest pleasure remains teamwork and the joy of working together and playing the game for love. His incredible footballing skills have never gone to his head and Kinas is without arrogance and combines a hardworking and diligent approach to football training with a delight in competition that is infectious. That passion spills off the pitch too. Kinas loves music, partying and people, and his friendliness and enthusiasm have a tendency to spread to all of those around him. It was for this ability to create unity among people - a facet which the organisers of Euro 2004 think is a wonderful representation of the spirit of European football - that Kinas was chosen as the competition’s mascot.

Embodying the enthusiasm, skill, determination and sense of fun that make football the greatest sport on earth, Kinas sees his role as making the Euro 2004 finals tournament an event that no-one will dare to miss.

The official UEFA Euro 2004 logo consists of a football set in a filigree heart surrounded by seven green dots. Seven is a number of great significance in Portuguese history and culture for many reasons, among them the conquest of the seven seas and the seven castles which appear in the coat-of-arms on the Portuguese national flag. The design of the football also has a strong Portuguese flavour, as the motifs are based on traditional elements from  Portuguese folk art. The colour combination of yellow, orange, red and green mixes the colours of the Portuguese flag with the symbols of light and sun that have always been key elements in Portuguese life and culture. The logo’s design communicates ‘football passion’ with a simple association of the two basic graphic elements - the heart and the football.

Meanwhile, Mr Ernie Walker, the chairman of the UEFA stadium and security committee, said it was “mission accomplished” after his latest inspection of the ten venues for the finals on Wednesday. After 150 individual stadium inspections he said he was sure next summer’s event would be “a whole new ball game”. “The stadiums are almost ready, just a few details are missing,” he said. “None of the stadiums will be dropped so we will have the first (UEFA) European Championship with ten venues and that is fantastic.”

“At the beginning everything seemed difficult and there was some criticism. But with the progress of the work these doubts have disappeared.” He added that the feat in getting all the venues ready was a unique one. “No country in the world has ever built ten stadiums at the same time.” Safety and comfort have been two of the main concerns for Mr Walker. On every inspection, he has never shirked from climbing to the top of stands, testing the chairs and assessing the different views of the pitch. Such experiences put him in the perfect position to evaluate the merits of the new venues. “This competition will take Portuguese football to the top in terms of comfort, viewing and safety,” he said. “We are talking about a completely different way of watching football.”  Mr Walker has always refused to name his favourite of the ten venues but is almost lost for words when speaks about Braga, claiming it was “wonderful, charismatic and unique”.   More than confident Euro 2004 will be a success, Mr Walker is now anxious to get to the kick-off. Until 12 June, he will continue his inspections but with less frequency. Yet, regardless of the number of visits, he claimed the stadiums would still have the ability to take his breath away.

- Forwarded by www.goa-world.com/sports/