The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship (Euro 96) was the tenth European Football Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first to use the "Euro" name, and the first where 16 nations competed. The tournament's final stages took place between 8 and 30 June 1996 and were hosted by England, in eight cities.

Germany won the tournament, beating Czech Republic 2–1 in golden goal extra time. Although not all games were sold out, Euro 96 had the highest aggregate attendance in championship history (1,276,000) and the highest average per game (41,158) for the revised 16-team format.

Fifteen teams had to go through a qualifying round to reach the final stage. England qualified automatically as hosts of the event. This was the first European Championship to introduce the current format of 16 countries competing in the final tournament. UEFA had made the decision to expand the tournament as in the late 1980s and early 1990s it was far easier for European nations to qualify for the World Cup than their own continental championship; 14 of the 24 teams at the 1982, 1986 and 1990 World Cups had been European, whereas the European Championship finals still involved only eight teams. The number of UEFA members wishing to participate had also drastically increased after the recent break up of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia, from 33 teams in 1988 to 48 teams in 1996.

The UEFA Europa League /juːˈeɪfə jʊˈroʊpə ˈliːɡ/, previously called the UEFA Cup /juːˈeɪfə ˈkʌp/, is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions.

Previously called the UEFA Cup, the competition has been known as the UEFA Europa League since the 2009–10 season, following a change in format. For UEFA footballing records purposes, the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League are considered the same competition, with the change of name being simply a rebranding.

In 1999, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was abolished and merged with the UEFA Cup. For the 2004–05 competition a group stage was added prior to the knock out stage. The 2009 rebranding included a merge with the UEFA Intertoto Cup, producing an enlarged competition format, with an expanded group stage and changed qualifying criteria. The winner of the UEFA Europa League qualifies for the UEFA Super Cup.

David Andrew Seaman MBE (born 19 September 1963 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire) is an English former football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury. He was awarded the MBE in 1997 for services to the sport.

The peak of his career was during his period as Arsenal and England goalkeeper in the 1990s and early 2000s; during his time at Arsenal he won many medals including three league championships (1991, 1998, 2002), four FA Cups (1993, 1998, 2002, 2003), the League Cup in 1993 and the European Cup Winners Cup in 1994. During this time he also played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and Euro 96 and Euro 2000, and is England's second-most capped goalkeeper with 75 caps, after Peter Shilton.

Seaman's career highs came in his successful performance in UEFA Euro 96 and in Arsenal's UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Premier League and FA Cup (including a superb save from Paul Peschisolido for Sheffield United in the FA Cup 2002–03) campaigns in the mid-90s and early-2000s. Notable lows came with two costly errors, both from long-range efforts — conceding a last-minute goal in the 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final to Nayim and conceding to a Ronaldinho free-kick in the 2002 FIFA World Cup quarter-final.

Slaven Bilić (pronounced [slâʋɛn bǐːlit͡ɕ]; born 11 September 1968) is a former Croatian footballer and manager of the Croatian national team and the Russian club FC Lokomotiv Moscow. He started playing in 1988 for his hometown club Hajduk Split and later had successful foreign spells with Karlsruher SC in Germany, and West Ham United and Everton in England before retiring from active football in 2001. At national level, Bilić served as one of Croatia's most consistent defenders during the tenure of coach Miroslav Blažević, earning 44 caps between 1992 and 1999 and playing in UEFA Euro 1996 and the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Following his playing retirement in 2001 at Hajduk Split, Bilić immediately turned to coaching, his first job being a five-month stint at Hajduk's helm in the latter stage of the 2001–02 season. Between 2004 and 2006 he managed Croatia under-21 football team, before taking over the senior national side from Zlatko Kranjčar in August 2006.

Credited with successfully overseeing the introduction of a series of young players from the under-21 squad to the senior side, Bilić led the team to the 2008 European championship where they reached the quarter-finals. In spite the fact that under Bilić's tenure Croatia failed to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, his contract with the Croatian Football Federation was extended in 2009. He then went on to qualify for the 2012 European championship, his second managerial success and major tournament appearance with Croatia.