BY ELISHA KAMAU
With Gor Mahia and Manchester City fans still celebrating their victories in the Kenya Premier League and English Premier League, and the jubilation of Manchester United and Real Madrid supporters for their FA Cup and UEFA Champions League wins still fresh, the football fever is far from over. Another thrilling football extravaganza is just around the corner: UEFA European Championship (Euro) 2024.
The summer of football action will see 24 nations from across Europe competing for the coveted trophy currently held by Italy.
The mighty Kogalo, as Gor Mahia is affectionately called by its diehard fans, revels in glory after clinching their 21st KPL title. Manchester City is still riding high after making history as the first team to win the English league title four seasons in a row.
Manchester United’s surprising 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup final, securing their 13th title and earning them a place in the UEFA Europa League, is still fresh in the minds of fans. As the dust settles, Real Madrid, boasting more Champions League titles than any other club, continues to assert its dominance on the global stage.
EURO 2024 in Germany will feature over 102 Premier League players. Premier League teammates will become rivals, and Premier League rivals will become teammates.
Manchester City is EPL’s club with the most players in Euro 2024. The EPL champions have 14 players representing seven different nations. Arsenal is next, with 11 players competing for nine different nations. Ipswich Town is the only EPL team without representation in Euro 2024, which kicks off on Friday.
Liverpool will have 10 players, while Manchester United and Chelsea will have eight and seven players respectively.
Germany and Spain lead by winning the most Euro titles, with three each, while Italy and France have bagged two each. Spain holds the record for the most matches played and most goals scored, at 179 and 407 respectively. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo tops the scoring charts with 55 goals, while Harry Kane (England), Romelu Lukaku (Belgium), and Robert Lewandowski (Poland) follow with 27 each. Ronaldo also holds the record for most matches played (69) in Euro history.
Multichoice will air all 51 UEFA Euro games, allowing Kenyan viewers to catch up with the football extravaganza unfolding until July 14, when the winner will be crowned in Berlin, Germany.
Analysts have given England a 19.9 percent chance of lifting Euro 2024 in Germany, having reached the finals in 2021 but lost to Italy in a penalty shootout, according to the BBC. The experts also predict that the chances of France and Germany winning Euro 2024 are 19.1 percent and 12.4 percent respectively.
Players to watch in Euro 2024 include France’s Kylian Mbappe, who was also the Golden Boot winner at the 2022 FIFA World Cup; Bukayo Saka, who is the back-to-back England Player of the Year winner; and Ronaldo, who is appearing in a record sixth Euro tournament.
The author, Elisha Kamau, is the PR Manager Multichoice Kenya
