15 Jan 2008Uefa 'considering European Championship expansion'

European football's governing body Uefa is looking into expanding its European Championship, it has been revealed.

Uefa's Congress is due to examine a report which advocates expansion at a meeting to be held in Zagreb, Croatia on January 31st.

A vote will be taken and, if carried, the tournament will feature 24 nations.

The move comes too late for England as they failed to qualify for the 16-strong tournament to be held in Austria and Switzerland this summer.

Indeed, the earliest that the changes could be brought in would be in time for the tournament to be held in 2016.

However, UEFA spokesman William Gaillard has suggested that the vote is far from a foregone conclusion.

"They have looked at different numbers and the overall effect of making such changes, including the possible effect on the qualifying round," he told Reuters.

"By expanding the number of teams in the final competition you could actually make the qualifying tournament less interesting so all these factors have to be taken into account."

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