UEFA also runs its own mini-World Cup, where each national federation puts forth a team of its best players to battle for European supremacy.  The European Championships are played opposite the World Cup (meaning that while the World Cup runs in 2002, 2006, 2010,... the EURO competition goes in 2004, 2008, 2012).

EURO is a two-year competition with three stages -- a group stage, a qualification stage, and the finals.  The group and qualifying stages end with 16 countries who enter the finals.  Normally, the host automatically qualifies for the final, so 15 slots are up for grabs.

• Group Stage.  UEFA's fifty-plus federations are divided into a number of groups.  For EURO 2004, it was ten groups of five.  The teams in each group play all other teams twice, one home and one away, over the course of a year-and-a-half.  Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw.  The group winner automatically qualifies for the EURO finals.

• Qualifying Stage.  This is a second-chance for the runners-up in each group.  The second place teams are paired off in a draw, and these pairings compete in a single two-game series with the winner qualifying for the EURO finals.

• Finals.  This is a major tournament played over a three-to-four week period in the summer.
  - Group Stage.  The teams are seeded in four groups of four teams.  Each team plays each other team once.  After the three games are played, the top two in each group advance to the knockout rounds.
  - Knockout Rounds -- Quarterfinal, Semifinal, and Final.  These are single-elimination games.  Draws in each game are resolved by thirty minutes of extra time (sudden death, first goal wins), followed if necessary by a penalty kick shootout.