UEFA European Football Championship 2016

The Henri Delaunay Trophy against the outline of France, together with the two mint marks of the Paris Mint. To the right appear the letters RF for République Française. Above the outline of France runs the name of the competition "UEFA EURO 2016 FRANCE". In the lower part of the design a football is shown in the foreground, with graphic elements symbolising the competition filling the background.

France is one of the defining nations of European football - not only as host of historic tournaments, but also as the birthplace of the European Championship itself. The idea for the competition goes back to Henri Delaunay, the UEFA's long-serving general secretary, who campaigned from the 1920s onwards for a pan-European national-team tournament. Delaunay did not live to see the first edition in 1960; the trophy named after him still bears his name today. France had already hosted the Euros in 1984 and won the tournament on home soil - a triumph closely tied to the golden generation led by Michel Platini. This history gave the 2016 tournament special significance: for the third time after 1960 and 1984, the European Championship was held in France.

With 24 participating nations, UEFA Euro 2016 was the largest edition of the European Championship to that point, held from 10 June to 10 July 2016 at ten venues across France - from Paris to Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and Lens. Around 2.5 million spectators watched the matches in the stadiums. Portugal won the final at the Stade de France against the hosts, 1-0 after extra time. For France, despite missing out on the title at home, the tournament was a widely praised organisational triumph. The 2-euro commemorative coin of France 2016 was issued to mark this tournament.