UEFA European Women's Championship 2005 Final Round

Media Release Date: 05/01/2005 Communiqué aux médias No. 146 Medien-Mitteilung

UEFA European Women’s Championship 2005 Final Round Draw and unveiling of Trophy

Final Round Draw at the City of Manchester Stadium on 19 January 2005

The Draw for the Final Tournament of the WOMEN’S EURO 2005, staged in England from 5 to 19 June 2005, and the unveiling of the newly designed trophy will take place at the City of Manchester Stadium on Wednesday 19 January at 13:45 local time.

UEFA CEO Lars-Christer Olsson and Karen Espelund, Chairwoman of the UEFA Women’s Football Committee, will be present for the draw. The FA have announced the presence of Sports Minister Richard Caborn and of FA Chairman Geoff Thompson. The ceremony will be transmitted live on uefa.com.

The 8 participating nations, which are England, Denmark, Finland, France, titleholders Germany, Italy, Norway and Sweden, will be drawn into two groups of four. Each team will play each of the other teams in the same group according to the league system being attributed three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a defeat. The winners and runners-up in each group will play the semi-finals and the winners of the semi-finals will contest the final.

The draw will be followed by media activities such as press conference, photo call and interview opportunities with the coaches and players present from the participating nations.

Media representatives wishing to attend the Final Round Draw ceremony and the press conference afterwards are requested to apply for accreditation directly to Alex Stone, Press Officer for the Tournament at the FA, via e-mail: [email protected] In order to facilitate coordination, you are kindly asked to inform Alex Stone on individual interview requests as well.

The UEFA European Women’s Championship 2005 will be hosted in England’s North West Region from 5 to 19 June 2005. The City of Manchester Stadium will host the opening England game on Sunday 5 June. The other Group A matches will be played at Ewood Park, ground of Blackburn Rovers FC, and at Bloomfield Road, ground of Blackpool FC. Ewood Park is also the setting for the Final on Sunday 19 June. Preston North End’s Deepdale ground and Warrington Wolves’ newly built Halliwell Jones Stadium will host the Group B games and will each stage one Semi-Final.