SOCCER'S European Championship, a US$1.9-billion showcase of national teams, is challenging the Olympics to be the most-watched sports tournament after the World Cup as fans gather around televisions from Caracas to Kuala Lumpur.
The quadrennial event, which opened in Switzerland and Austria last week, increased its TV audience by about 30 percent four years ago in Latin America and Asia, said Kevin Alavy at Future Sport + Entertainment. Viewing figures will rise again, making it the world's fastest-growing sports tournament, he said.
"A lot of sports are suffering audience declines, often significant declines," said Alavy, who is head of analysis at the media consultant firm in London. "But a few blue-ribbon events are bucking the trend. And what is bucking the trend more than any other is the European Championship."
World Cup winners Italy and Germany, the favorites, are among the 16 teams that will compete in Euro 2008, and growing interest outside of Europe has helped make the 23-day tournament the most lucrative yet. UEFA, European soccer's ruling body, expects revenue from media rights and ticket sales to soar 47 percent to 1.25 billion euros (US$1.95 billion) compared with four years ago, Bloomberg News reported.
The audience for the Euro 2004 final between Greece and Portugal was 161 million, more than any single event in the Athens Olympics the same year, Alavy said. Overall, the two-and-a-half week Olympics gets more viewers, he said. The World Cup final in 2006 drew 261 million viewers.
"We will be present on television all over the world," said William Gaillard, UEFA's communications director. "The world audience is not that very different from the World Cup."
While Latin America has its own regional soccer tournaments, the familiarity with European clubs has driven the popularity of the European Championship, said Armando De Armas, vice president of Meridiano Television, which is showing Euro 2008 games in Venezuela. Kaka, the current European Player of the Year, for example, is a Brazilian playing for AC Milan in Italy.
Like kids across Europe, Venezuelan children are buying and trading stickers of Euro 2008 players made by Italy's Panini SpA. Luis Colmenares, who sells albums for the stickers in a Caracas mall, said fans buy as many as 2,000 on a weekend.
Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo, France forward Thierry Henry and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon are among the best-known players. There's no David Beckham or Wayne Rooney, though, after England failed to qualify for the first time since 1984.
"I'm rooting for France," said Danilo Villegas, 38, Venezuelan shipping-service manager in Caracas. "People think soccer is cool."
In Singapore, soccer fans say they will stay up into the early hours of the morning to watch Euro 2008 games, with many placing bets to fuel their interest.
David Tan, a Singaporean taxi driver, said he and colleagues will break off from work to take in games in a bar.
"Taxi drivers just stop driving and watch the television," said Tan. "There are no passengers then because people are watching the football."
Germany, led by Chelsea's Michael Ballack, is seeking a record-extending fourth title and its first since 1996. Two years ago, it defied pre-tournament expectations and reached the World Cup semifinal on home soil before losing to Italy.
"We showed during the World Cup that you can count on us," Ballack told reporters ahead of the championship.
Italy dropped to third-favorite behind Spain to win Euro 2008 with bwin.com.