England only country left to sign Euro 2016 broadcast deal

Manchester: England are the only one of UEFA’s 53 members still to sign a final agreement formalising a new broadcast rights deal covering the qualifying competition of the Euro 2016 championship, UEFA’s general secretary Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday. UEFA will market and sell all matches in the qualifying campaign on the same model it uses to sell Champions League matches, a principle agreed at the 2011 UEFA Congress in Paris a year ago. However, Infantino said the English FA still had to endorse their final agreement with UEFA, with UEFA planning to go to tender in two weeks. [caption id=“attachment_258910” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The English FA still had to endorse their final agreement with UEFA, with UEFA planning to go to tender in two weeks. Reuters”]  [/caption] “The sticking points are minor rights details, radio rights and so on, and it is a matter of sitting around the table and discussing that,” Infantino told delegates at the Soccerex business convention. “We have reached agreements with 52 out of the 53 countries so there is no reason why we should not reach it with England; we still have a couple of days and there are just a couple of minor points. “It is fair to say the agreement will have a seismic effect on the football landscape across Europe.” Infantino dismissed a suggestion from the floor that by having 24 of UEFA’s 53 members in the finals in France in 2016, the qualifying competition would be less competitive and less attractive to broadcasters. “I think it will be just the opposite; while the big countries should get through as expected, a lot of smaller countries will have a lot more to play for chasing the extra qualifying places, and don’t forget the associations voted in this change. I am sure the qualifiers will be far more competitive as a result.” Reuters