A Brief History Of The Euros

Before you start thinking of your Euros 2024 football predictor selections, it’s worth taking a quick look back at the colourful, and often turbulent, history of this prestigious tournament. How did the Euros take shape, which country has been the most successful, and how have England done down the years.

When I’m 64…

Euros 2024 is the 17th edition of the pan-European football competition, which began 64 years ago in France. The tournament was the brainchild of Henri Delauney, the secretary general of the French Football Association. He first proposed the competition in 1927, and also worked with the legendary Jules Rimet on the World Cup.

Sadly, Europe was still divided by the events of the Great War, and his idea did not come to life until 1960, three years after his death. It was his son, Pierre, now head of UEFA, who saw his father’s vision through.

Just four teams competed in the first finals, from a total of 17 entrants, with the Soviet Union taking the trophy, which had been named after Deluaney.

Growing Pains

The tournament grew steadily in the years that followed, although the political pressures continued to take their toll. 29 teams took part in the 1964 competition and 31 in 1968. However, the finals remained at just four teams until 1980, when it was expanded to eight teams. The Euros grew again to 16 teams in 1996, 20 teams in 2016 and 24 teams in 2020.

Despite the growth, many teams have either refused to take part, or been banned from the tournament down the years. For example, Spain refused to play the Soviet Union in 1960, Greece withdrew in 1964 after being drawn against Albania, who they were at war with, and in 1992 Yugoslavia were banned from the tournament as some of their regions were at war with each other!

64 years of hurt

If you are thinking of choosing England as one of your selections in the Euros 2024 football predictor game, then it’s worth bearing in mind that we don’t have a great record at the Euros. We currently sit an unimpressive seventh in the all-time league, behind three-time winners Germany and Spain, double winners Italy and France, plus the Netherlands and Portugal, who have won the Euros once each.

England didn’t enter the first tournament in 1960 and didn’t qualify in 1964, despite winning the World Cup just two years later. They only managed third in the post-World Cup event, and only qualified once in the next four tournaments. Baddiel and Skinner tried to inspire us to end ‘30years of hurt’ with Three Lions for the home tournament in 1996, but we still only made the semi-finals. The closest England have come was the heart-breaking defeat by Italy in the final of Euro2020.

An even briefer history of the Euros 2024 football predictor game

Noise have been running their football predictor game since 2016, covering two Euros, two Men’s World Cups and last year’s Women’s World Cup. That means the Euros 2024 football predictor game will be our sixth competition, and it gets better every time.

Our football predictor games attract thousands of players across the world, from the UAE to USA, Argentina to Australia, Singapore to San Marino. Wherever you are in the world, Noise can provide a bespoke Euros 2024 football predictor game for you. We can translate into the local language and even provide white label versions or brand it with your company colours and logos to make the game look even more impressive.

Just like the tournament itself, the Euros 2024 football predictor can bring together your teams from across the country and across the continent in a friendly celebration of the beautiful game. It’s a great way to get everyone involved in something beyond work, and it can really bring departments together for some fun team building rivalry within your organisation.

To find out more about the Noise Euros 2024 football predictor, complete the contact page and we’ll be in touch very soon. Who knows, it could be 16th time lucky for England in Germany next summer.