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26 May 2008
GSPON – If only the European Championship was played above 2,000 metres.
Switzerland opened the first European football tournament for mountain villages with a 6-1 victory over Germany on Friday.
Around 400 fans watched the match in the tiny south Swiss village of Gspon, population 585, whose football field at an altitude 2,008 metres is Europe’s highest.
The victory for the Swiss village was a reversal from the 4-0 drubbing the country’s national team received from Germany in March. While Switzerland heads into next month’s Euro 2008 in poor form and with numerous injuries, Germany counts among the favourites.
Switzerland and Austria are co-hosting the 7-29 June tournament, which will draw hundreds of thousands of spectators to the Alpine nations.
The mountain tournament that ends Sunday is also comprised of village sides from Austria, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
[AP / Expatica]