Evaluating the regulatory procedure of host‐country selections for the UEFA European championship: A case study of Euro 2004

Abstract

European football is currently adjusting to a new regulatory environment, known as the SMP or Single Market Programme, which places great an emphasis on the trans‐European context. The UEFA European Football Championship ‐ a tournament for national representative teams, which has taken place every four years since its inception in 1960 ‐ has evolved along with the European Union project and in parallel with the liberalisation policies influencing the burgeoning sports industry and its labour market. This paper examines the dynamics of the next Championship, Euro 2004, which will be staged in Portugal. Support for this event among the Portuguese public is tested with the CVM‐Contingent Valuation Method, and the paper concludes that the regulatory procedures applied to economic and democratic principles are problematic.