The summer is about to end and this marks the dawn of the new season for football. With a huge fan following from all over the world, specially Europe, everyone seems to be all-set to witness the kick-off of domestic leagues. Whilst waiting for the 2008 football season, everyone, including the busy transfer markets, have been curious to see the performances of their clubs for the all new, grand football season. The special feature of this season is the most elite of all the football competitions in the world - European championship 2008, which will be hosted in Switzerland and Austria.

Also referred as the Euro 2008, this European championship 2008 is the 13th edition of the UEFA, the European Football Championship, which is an anniversary celebration of the European nations football tournament. Initiated on 7 June 2008, the close of the tournament has been scheduled with the final being played at the Ernst Happel Stadion on 29th of the same month in Vienna. This is the second of the joint successful bids in the history of the competition. Being triumphed in the preceding tournament, Greece will be the defending champions in the tournament.

In all, there are sixteen teams that will be trying to notch a win in this grand football tournament. These obviously include the two host countries, along with 14 other teams that are determined on the basis of the qualifying matches, which started in August 2006. Of the sixteen participating teams, the winner of Euro 2008 will have the benefit of qualifying for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, which is to be held in South Africa. Not forgetting that the winning team will have the choice of participating or not.

A positive draw has been given to England in the qualifying stages of the 2008 European championship. However tougher tests have been faced by many home countries, including the Republic of Ireland, so as to qualify for the finals in Switzerland and Austria after the Friday draw in Montreux.

Also, a new trophy has been designed for the winning team of the Euro 2008. It has been designed and created by Asprey of London, and is another version of the Henri Delaunay Trophy. It is an accurate replica of the original, which was designed by Arthus-Bertrand. In the original trophy, the minute figure which was seen juggling the ball at the back has been detached along with marble plinth. The trophy's silver base has been enlarged which gives the trophy better stability. The names of the winning countries, which used to appear on the plinth, will now be engraved on the back of the trophy, and engraved in sterling silver. The height of the trophy is 60 centimeters and it weighs 17.6 lb, or 8 kilograms.

Though booking tickets online for Euro 2008 is convenient and a good idea, fans still have to be careful when purchasing tickets. IT experts have appealed to fans to be careful of a malicious code, which is mentioned on a big European company website which deals in the re-sale of tickets. The talked about site also ranks high amongst search engine listings and the presence of several sponsored links which indicates that hackers may be able to track down potential victims.