25
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
When?
Annually, starting in mid-July.
Future Locations of Finals:
2009-Rome, Italy (subject to change)
2010-Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain
Significance:
In Europe, they call it football and it does not get more exciting than the chase for the European Champion Clubs’ Cup in a ten-month tournament. Every year, the most successful football/soccer clubs vie for the most prestigious club trophy in the sport. The UEFA Champions League is open to member associations and clubs that finish first to fourth in the strongest leagues. For a soccer team to compete in the league shows that they are the best of the best, with or without a title.
Rabid soccer fans from around the world follow each match closely to see which team will emerge as a potential champion. They attend their team’s league matches, cheering on their home country heroes. Fantasy leagues are even set up through the UEFA website, further whetting the appetite of the fanatical followers who build their rosters and compete against each other.
Who attends?
Soccer fanatics who want to watch some of the world’s best teams compete against each other.
History
French sports writing journalist Gabriel Hanot had an idea back in the 1950s that would change European soccer/football history forever. Those football teams recognized as winners of European national football leagues should come together in a continental competition to determine the European Cup champion. In the 1955/1956 season, the first tournament commenced for the then-European Cup, which became the UEFA Champions League Cup in the 1992/1993 season.
At that time, only national league champions were allowed into the tournament. Today, those title-holders compete with runners-up for UEFA Champions League superiority, a significant change that was implemented in the 1997/1998 season. Qualifying for the tournament starts in July with three preliminary knockout rounds that winnow the competition down to thirty-two teams. Further changes in 2007 resulted in twenty-two teams receiving automatic qualifying berths to the group stage, an increase from sixteen. The remaining ten teams qualify based on elaborate champion and non-champion rankings. The objective of the change was to enable champions from low-ranked associations access to the main tournament by competing against non-champions from higher-ranked associations that did not qualify for the group stage.
From there, eight group winners and eight runners-up compete in the final knockout rounds. The two teams that are left over compete in the final match for the Cup in May.
Notable Athletes:
Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United
Steven Gerrard, Liverpool
Lionel Messi, Barcelona
Fernando Torres, Liverpool
Raúl González, Real Madrid
Zlatan Ibrahimović, Inter Milan
Deivid, Fenerbahçe
Frédéric Kanouté, Sevilla
Records:
All-Time top goal scorer: Raúl, 63 goals in 120 games, Real Madrid
Nation with most championship teams: 11 (Tie), Spain, Italy, and England
Things to know before you go:
Hat Trick: Three goals scored in one game by one player.
Give and Go: A player controlling the ball passes to a teammate and runs through an open field to get a possible return pass.
Juggling: Keeping the ball off the ground by a player using their feet, thighs, chest, head, and the top of their shoulders.
Red Card: Shown by a referee to signify that a player has been sent off. The player who has been sent off must leave the field immediately and cannot be replaced during the game; their team must continue the game with one player fewer.
Yellow Card: A cautionary warning issued by the referee to a player for unsportsmanlike behavior or a variety of other infractions.
Tickets:
For primary ticket access information, consider:
www.uefa.com.
Note: Applications are vetted to identify anyone banned from football games. No tickets are distributed to ticket agencies or secondary sources.
Lottery: Tickets are decided by a lottery held by UEFA. Fans fill out an application/ballot and those are accepted for a set amount of time. Each person selected is entitled to a maximum of two tickets.
Finalist Tickets: Three-quarters of all the tickets are reserved for the general public and fans of the two teams competing in the finals. Each finalist can take up to roughly 21,000 tickets and distribute them.
Tickets for the Public: About 10,500 tickets remain for sale to fans on a worldwide basis through UEFA.
For secondary ticket access, consider:
GoTickets, Inc.
2345 Waukegan Road, Suite 140
Bannockburn, IL 60015-1552
Toll-Free: 1-800-775-1617
Fax: (919) 481-9101
E-mail: sales@gotickets.com
www.gotickets.com
Travel Packages:
If you are going to travel to this event, I would recommend using a reliable company to work with you on making the necessary arrangements. The suppliers listed in this book have solid references and are by far the most trusted in the business. Below are some of the organizations to try for this Top 100 Must See Sporting Event.
Premiere Corporate Events
14 Penn Plaza, Suite 925
New York, NY 10122
Phone: (212) 695-9480
Fax: (212) 564-8098
Toll-Free: 1-877-621-5243
E-mail: requests@tseworld.com
www.tseworld.comwww.pcevents.comPremiere Sports Travel
201 Shannon Oaks Circle, Suite 205
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 481-9511
Fax: (919) 481-1337
Toll-Free: 1-800-924-9993
E-mail: sales@sportstravel.com
www.sportstravel.comNotable Quotes:
“This tour is setting new standards in regards to its size, the technologies used, and the ability to offer thousands of football fans an unforgettable football experience.”—MICHEL PLATINI, UEFA President
“You can imagine the fan frenzy at the higher-up levels of the championship—a UEFA Champions League game is absolutely amazing to watch live! With fans, sponsors, and world-renowned football players in the mix, watching live UEFA Champions League games is an unreal experience not only in person but on television as well.”—Live Football Online’s website
Relevant Websites: