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The DFB’s delegation will travel from Brazil, England and Germany to Nice this weekend in time for Sunday’s 2016 European Championship draw. From 12:00 CET, Germany’s national side will learn who and where they will play in their qualifying matches.
DFB General Secretary Helmut Sandrock and national team manager Oliver Bierhoff have been attending FIFA’s team workshop in Brazil this week, national coach Joachim Löw and his assistant Hansi Flick took in Bayern’s 2-0 away win at Arsenal on Wednesday evening and goalkeeping coach Andreas Köpke is travelling from Germany. On Sunday, the delegation will assemble in Nice, where the qualifying draw will begin at 12:00 CET. Former European champions Ruud Gullit, of the Netherlands, and France’s Bixente Lizarazu will carry out the draw together with UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino.
The qualifying phase consists of eight groups of six teams and one group of five teams, who will contest group matches between September 2014 and October 2015. The nine group winners, nine runners-up and best third-placed team will qualify directly for the European Championship finals, with the eight remaining third-placed teams set to face each other in play-offs.
24 teams to qualify for the first time
Including hosts France, 24 teams will take place in the European Championship finals for the first time – almost half of all UEFA member states. Joachim Löw is sceptical about the arrangement, saying: “As a coach, I think increasing the number of teams in a European Championship is questionable, and the same goes for the new qualifying format. It reduces the sporting value of not only individual matches but the entire tournament.”
Ahead of the qualifying draw, the participating teams will be divided into seeded pots according to the UEFA country coefficients, placing Germany in Pot 1 with Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, England, Portugal, Greece, Russia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The draw will begin by dividing the teams from Pot 1 between Groups A to I, ensuring they cannot be drawn against one another. Even before the draw is made, national coach Löw knows the target Germany must set themselves in qualification. “Our aim must be to win whichever group we are drawn in,” he said. “We’ll go to Nice with that in mind.”
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Qualifying matches to be centrally marketed
Although the DFB has been sceptical about increasing the number of participants in the European Championship from the outset, Helmut Sandrock emphasised ahead of the draw that the Association defers to the result of this democratic process. “Ultimately, a majority of national associations within UEFA voted for this change,” he said.
The increase in teams is not the only novelty. The other new development is that qualifying matches will be centrally marketed by UEFA, meaning that national football associations no longer have any influence when it comes to setting fixtures. With a view to generating maximum TV publicity, UEFA has opted for matches played in the following patterns: Thursday/Sunday, Friday/Monday or Saturday/Tuesday. “This new model offers new marketing opportunities and will attract new partners, which is a positive development,” Sandrock explained.
Oliver Bierhoff also sees the potential within this new format. “Part of the phenomenon of football is that, despite the huge range of matches on offer, there is still no oversaturation of coverage. Nowadays, you can watch football every day, and it still continues to fascinate and excite us,” he said. However, the national team manager warns against pushing things too far. “But we’ve got to take care and make sure football does not become so commonplace that it loses its appeal.”
created by dfb
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The DFB’s delegation will travel from Brazil, England and Germany to Nice this weekend in time for Sunday’s 2016 European Championship draw. From 12:00 CET, Germany’s national side will learn who and where they will play in their qualifying matches.
DFB General Secretary Helmut Sandrock and national team manager Oliver Bierhoff have been attending FIFA’s team workshop in Brazil this week, national coach Joachim Löw and his assistant Hansi Flick took in Bayern’s 2-0 away win at Arsenal on Wednesday evening and goalkeeping coach Andreas Köpke is travelling from Germany. On Sunday, the delegation will assemble in Nice, where the qualifying draw will begin at 12:00 CET. Former European champions Ruud Gullit, of the Netherlands, and France’s Bixente Lizarazu will carry out the draw together with UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino.
The qualifying phase consists of eight groups of six teams and one group of five teams, who will contest group matches between September 2014 and October 2015. The nine group winners, nine runners-up and best third-placed team will qualify directly for the European Championship finals, with the eight remaining third-placed teams set to face each other in play-offs.
24 teams to qualify for the first time
Including hosts France, 24 teams will take place in the European Championship finals for the first time – almost half of all UEFA member states. Joachim Löw is sceptical about the arrangement, saying: “As a coach, I think increasing the number of teams in a European Championship is questionable, and the same goes for the new qualifying format. It reduces the sporting value of not only individual matches but the entire tournament.”
Ahead of the qualifying draw, the participating teams will be divided into seeded pots according to the UEFA country coefficients, placing Germany in Pot 1 with Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, England, Portugal, Greece, Russia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The draw will begin by dividing the teams from Pot 1 between Groups A to I, ensuring they cannot be drawn against one another. Even before the draw is made, national coach Löw knows the target Germany must set themselves in qualification. “Our aim must be to win whichever group we are drawn in,” he said. “We’ll go to Nice with that in mind.”
[bild2]
Qualifying matches to be centrally marketed
Although the DFB has been sceptical about increasing the number of participants in the European Championship from the outset, Helmut Sandrock emphasised ahead of the draw that the Association defers to the result of this democratic process. “Ultimately, a majority of national associations within UEFA voted for this change,” he said.
The increase in teams is not the only novelty. The other new development is that qualifying matches will be centrally marketed by UEFA, meaning that national football associations no longer have any influence when it comes to setting fixtures. With a view to generating maximum TV publicity, UEFA has opted for matches played in the following patterns: Thursday/Sunday, Friday/Monday or Saturday/Tuesday. “This new model offers new marketing opportunities and will attract new partners, which is a positive development,” Sandrock explained.
Oliver Bierhoff also sees the potential within this new format. “Part of the phenomenon of football is that, despite the huge range of matches on offer, there is still no oversaturation of coverage. Nowadays, you can watch football every day, and it still continues to fascinate and excite us,” he said. However, the national team manager warns against pushing things too far. “But we’ve got to take care and make sure football does not become so commonplace that it loses its appeal.”
