Route Euro 2024: Coupe Henri Delaunay

The 17th edition of the European Football Championship will be held in Germany from June 14 to July 14, 2024. The founder of this championship is the Frenchman Henri Delaunay. He conceived the tournament but never saw a match himself, as he died in 1955. Who was Delaunay? To date, ten countries can call themselves European champions. Germany and Spain have won the tournament three times. More statistics about the European Football Championship in this blog.

Henri Delaunay

Henri Delaunay (1883 – 1955) was a French football personality. Delaunay began his career as a player with the Parisian team Étoile des Deux Lacs. After his playing career, he became a referee. He retired from this position following an incident during a match between AF-Garenne Doves and ES Benevolence. During this match, he was hit full in the face by the ball, causing him to swallow his whistle and break two teeth.

In 1906, Delaunay became president of Étoile des Deux Lacs. In addition, he held other positions at this club. From 1924 to 1928, he served as a member of FIFA. Together with Jules Rimet, he was one of the architects of the FIFA World Cup. He was also the creator of the former FIFA Club World Cup.

(When UEFA EURO 2008™, the largest sporting event ever held in Austria, kicks off on June 7, 2008, the 16 participating football teams will ultimately have only one goal: to become European football champions! The winning team will receive the coveted Henri Delaunay Cup (named after the former UEFA Secretary General) after the final match in Vienna on June 29, 2008. The valuable sterling silver trophy weighs 8 kg and measures 60 cm. The names of the European champions are engraved on the reverse. The new block, which crowns the philatelic conclusion of this year's themed football stamps, is almost as valuable as the UEFA Cup itself. The image shows the trophy on a blue background, decoratively adorned with four particularly large original Swarovski crystals. The collaboration with Swarovski, the world market leader in the production of synthetic glass gemstones based in Wattens in Tyrol, has continued since the publication of the now legendary block. 'Kristallwelten' was very successful in 2004. Applying the gemstones to the current special stamp once again required the utmost precision. In a complex production process lasting weeks, the stamp was refined in a very special way.

Delaunay was largely responsible for the establishment of the European Men's Football Championship. He came up with the idea for this competition in 1927, but the tournament was not realized until 1960. The trophy of this championship is named after him, the Coupe Henri Delaunay. This trophy can also be seen in the championship's logo. From June 15, 1954, until his death, Delaunay served as Secretary-General of UEFA. He died in 1955. After his death, he was succeeded by his son, Pierre Delaunay. What it's all about during a month-long battle for the Henri Delaunay Cup: the ball, 22 footballers, three referees, and the fans in the stadium. Armenia understood that well. At the bottom of the sheet: the two stamps featuring the footballer, the ball, and the Cup, with the stadium and spectators in the background. A successful design!  

The European champions and all-time top scorers

As early as 1927, the French Secretary-General of FIFA, Henri Delaunay, conceived the idea of ​​a European Championship for national teams. However, partly due to the Second World War, it was not until 1960 that the first European Championship finals took place. Delaunay, after whom the cup was named, did not live to see it: he died in 1955. Under the auspices of UEFA, the European football governing body, this tournament has been organized every four years since 1960. The first two editions were played under the name European Cup for Nations.

From 1960 to 1976, four countries qualified for the final tournament. The organizer of the final round was then chosen from these countries. Since 1980, the country in which the final round will take place is determined in advance. Since 2000, it has also been possible for two countries to jointly organize the final tournament. Up to and including 1992, eight countries participated in the final round. From 1996, sixteen countries have participated, and from 2016, 24 countries. The third-place play-off was abolished after the 1980 European Championship.

To date, ten countries can call themselves European champions. Germany and Spain have won the tournament three times, followed by France and Italy with two championships each. Six countries have won the European Championship once. The Soviet Union won the very first edition in 1960, and the Netherlands, of course, won in 1988. The other winners are Portugal, Greece, Denmark, and Czechoslovakia. Ronaldo is the big winner of the tournament with the most Euro caps (23x) and is the Euro top scorer with 14 goals (2020 (5), 2016 (3), 2012 (3), 2008 (1), 2004 (2)).

 

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UEFA EURO 2024: https://www.uefa.com/euro2024/ KNVB Our Orange: https://www.onsoranje.nl/ Previous Route Euro 2024 blogs: https://www.postzegelblog.nl/tag/route-euro-2024/ Previous EURO2020 blogs: https://www.postzegelblog.nl/tag/euro2020/