Now for home improvement

8220;From the Swiss point of view, we are of course not satisfied with the performance of the national team,8221; said Swiss FA president Ralph Zloczower, whose team were eliminated after just two games, five days into the June 7-29 event.

8220;We had the target of reaching at least the quarter-finals and we didn8217;t make it. But interest remained high throughout the tournament and the atmosphere in the fanzones could not have been better.8221;

The decision to award Euro 2008 to Switzerland and Austria attracted some criticism based on the two countries8217; relative lack of profile as footballing nations.

Austria, in particular, had never managed to qualify for a European Championship before receiving their automatic place as co-hosts of Euro 2008 and are currently ranked 92nd in FIFA8217;s international standings.

More enthusiastic

AUSTRIAN FA president Friedrich Stickler said on Sunday that his country8217;s reputation for being interested only in Alpine skiing was exaggerated.

8220;The Austrians do love their football and they already did before the Euro,8221; he said. 8220;But now you can tell that people are getting even more enthusiastic with far more people taking an interest.

8220;We already have 400,000 registered footballers and we have been preparing clubs for the fact that many more boys and girls will be coming to them after the tournament wanting to play football.

Zloczower said the Swiss FA had already seen the first signs of a Euro 2008 boom. 8220;The number of our members has already shot up this year and there will be even more men, women and children wanting to play. Our main problem is having enough pitches and infrastructure to cope with the demand but I8217;m confident we will make good progress there too.8221;

At the professional level, both Austria and Switzerland will return to action for World Cup 2010 qualifying with new coaches at the helm.

Switzerland coach Koebi Kuhn retired following Euro 2008 and will be officially succeeded by two-time Champions League winning trainer Ottmar Hitzfeld on Tuesday.

Austria are yet to name a replacement for Josef Hickersberger who stepped down following his team8217;s group stage exit. Stickler said on Sunday that the new man would be chosen by the end of July.

Euro expanded to 24 teams

The European Championship finals will almost certainly be increased to 24 teams from 2016 after the idea was unanimously agreed by senior officials of all 53 UEFA member nations on Saturday.

The recommendation was made at a meeting of the presidents and general secretaries of UEFA members. It came after UEFA president Michel Platini said earlier on Saturday that increasing the size of the European Championship to 20 or 24 teams from 16 finalists would not necessarily diminish the quality of the competition.

UEFA has been studying proposals to increase the size of the finals since early last year.

Platini reminded reporters that when he won the tournament playing for France in 1984 it was only half the size it is now. 8220;Remember, I won the Euros when there were only eight teams. It is not certain it was better with eight teams than 16 or that 16 is better than 24 or 32 or 54,8221; he said.

8220;I am not worried about the quality by increasing the number. Countries like England, Denmark, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, Serbia, Ukraine and Bulgaria all have the ability to participate in a European Championship.

8220;Would they reduce the quality of the Euro? I believe they have the quality to take part, yes sincerely, there are teams that could be at the Euro and even enhance the quality of the competition.8221;