Organisers promise peaceful Euro 2000
AGENCIES

BRUSSELS, JUNE 8: ``All systems are ready to go. Let the games begin.'' those are the words of the organisers of the 11th European Football Championship, which kicks off on Saturday with co-hosts Belgium facing Sweden at King Baudoin stadium in Brussels.

The organisers expect the June 10-July 2 tournament -- dubbed''football without borders'' -- to be a festival of peace and football fun for the some 1.2 million visitors and seven billion television viewers in 190 countries.

``We want to offer a European championship of the highest quality. And we have done everything to make it a peaceful tournament on the pitch and in the stands -- one in which the sport is the main attraction and tolerance and fair play are in the forefront,'' said Jan Sprengers, president of the Dutch Football Federation.

The football powers believe the event will go on without a hitch despite continued fear of hooligan violence and outside criticism of planned security.

``We will not take advice from others. They should worry about their own problems,'' Belgian tournament director Alain Courtois insisted.

Belgium and Holland have invested some $165 million in security measures, including the deployment of 80,000 police.

Courtois also ended all speculation that the much-anticipated England-Germany showdown on June 17 will be moved to another city because of security concerns. ``The match will definitely take place in Charleroi.''

The director also repeated the importance of football as ``Ambassador for the unification of Europe'', saying the kickoff of a new millennium is a critical component to the cultural, social, economical and political integration of Europeans.

``People with anti-social characteristics are therefore not welcome,'' added the Belgian.

Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.