As Ireland's joint bid to host the 2008 European Championship with Scotland staggered on to the next stage, Portugal's preparations for the 2004 tournament came close to descending into chaos as UEFA threatened to intervene in a row over public expenditure on the preparations for the event.
Speaking in Japan, where he was attending preparatory seminars for the World Cup, UEFA president Lennart Johannson threatened to seek an alternative to staging the tournament in Portugal if disputes between local government bodies and leading clubs in the country cannot be quickly resolved.
The difficulties are the result of a nationwide shift in power at townhall level following substantial victories by the centre right candidates in December's local elections. Portugal's successful bid to stage the championship in 2004 involved substantial spending commitments by the then socialist administration in relation to stadium renovations and wider infrastructural projects. Newly elected local authorities have been looking for ways of cutting back on their spending.
"We cannot wait much longer," said Johannson on Thursday night. "If things continue as they are we will have to take action. There is no shortage of countries that are interested in organising the 2004 European Championship and we can change at any time."
Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio criticised the UEFA chief's comments and expressed his faith that the stadiums will be completed on time.
"We have a commitment with UEFA which we will certainly meet," he said. "But UEFA also has a serious commitment with Portugal."
A major point of contention is the level of support that will be provided for the building of Porto's new 50,000-seat Antas Stadium. Construction work has already started at the site but was briefly halted as a result of the dispute. Ernie Walker, the Scottish FA official who is the head of UEFA's stadiums committee, described the situation as "alarming".
Meanwhile, UEFA received seven bids by the Thursday midnight deadline for the 2008 Championship, including the one that finally emerged from Ireland and Scotland. The only surprise was the confirmation from Russia that they had re-entered the process with a solo bid, having announced before Christmas that they were not in a position to go forward.
Outlines of the bids will be presented to UEFA's congress on April 25th and the final documentation is scheduled for submission on May 31st, although the FAI are apparently attempting to have this deadline extended by a month because of World Cup commitments. Inspection trips are expected to take place in August and September with a final decision due in December.
