The process to pick a host for what will be a beefed up European Championship in 2016 is down to four finalists, with bids from France, Italy, Turkey and a joint proposal from Sweden-Norway accepted by Monday night's midnight deadline, according to an AP report from Geneva.
UEFA will analyze each bid before confirming an official list of potential hosts next month, with those selected then given until Feb. 15, 2010 to put together a final bid. The winner will be chosen three months later in May, allowing the host a full six years to prepare for the 24-team tournament, which requires nine stadiums that hold at least 30,000 fans and one 50,000-seat stadium to be used for the final.
Rivals France and Italy look to be the favorites over would-be first-time hosts Turkey and Norway (Sweden hosted in 1992), having hosted both Euro competitions (in 1984 and 1980, respectively) and World Cups (1998 and 1990, respectively) before.
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