UEFA Moves Venue for Two Matches

The organizers of the final stage of the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship state that following the draw on Sunday in Lisbon, there are no specific security concerns. The UEFA immediately announced that two matches in the European Championship will be moved from their current venues to larger stadiums in bigger cities. The match between the national football teams of England and Croatia in Group B will take place on June 21 in Lisbon instead of Coimbra. Additionally, the match between Germany and the Netherlands in Group D will be moved from Aveiro to Porto on June 15. This comes after England narrowly avoided being eliminated from the European Championship in 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands due to disruptions caused by English hooligans, but now the tournament organizers say that the venue changes are solely to accommodate a larger audience. Ms. Jacinta Johnston, spokesperson for the 2004 European Championship organizers, states, 'There will potentially be many eager fans wanting to watch the matches, and we want to cater to them.' It is worth noting that in this draw, 16 teams were divided into 4 groups of 4 teams each: Group A: Portugal, Greece, Spain, and Russia; Group B: France, England, Switzerland, and Croatia; Group C: Sweden, Bulgaria, Denmark, and Italy; Group D: Czech Republic, Lithuania, Germany, and the Netherlands. The twelfth edition of the European Championship will officially begin with the match between the teams of Portugal and Greece from Group A on June 12, 2004.