[Oliver_Kahn]

Austrian Football Association president Friedrich Stickler is eagerly awaiting a "top-class event" as the 6th UEFA European Under-19 Championship kicks off this afternoon.

'More than a test'
With UEFA EURO 2008™ now less than a year away, the finals give the hosts the perfect opportunity to measure their preparations for next summer's event – which they will stage together with neighbours Switzerland – and Stickler is confident the next two weeks will provide evidence the plans are on course. "The province of Upper Austria is really excited about organising this tournament. I wouldn't call it a warm-up, it's a top-class event on its own," he told uefa.com. "Hopefully it will produce a good atmosphere and will make people aware for the first time how such tournaments work and what's coming next year. It's more than a test, it's a dry run for 2008."

'Thrilling' experience
Having being awarded two UEFA final tournaments in successive years, Stickler recognises considerable faith has been invested in Austria and the four U19 host cities – Linz, Pasching, Ried and Steyr – and he is confident his country can rise to the challenges that lie ahead. "Let's hope other people think [Austria have a good reputation for organising these events]," he said. "In the past we've done a good job of doing such things and I expect people will come here relying on our professionalism. The cities have never seen such a big tournament and of course for them it's thrilling. Right now there's a good atmosphere in all those cities and people are working very hard."

Strong support
Stickler was in attendance at last year's finals in Poland and is a keen supporter of the competition, adding: "There is some excellent football being played at U19 level. Sometimes it looks like the senior game." Uppermost in Stickler's mind, however, is the importance of ensuring everything runs smoothly and he is delighted with how things have gone so far. "The organisers have done a lot. In a political and economic sense everyone is behind this tournament. There's a lot of political backing for this tournament and plenty of sponsors have come on board so we've been getting all the support we needed – in fact, even more so."

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