European Championship 1992 Final Stages
The political upheavals in eastern Europe had a dramatic impact on the 1992 tournament, which was held in four cities in Sweden. The Soviet Union team had qualified but that country had ceased to exist. Instead UEFA accepted a team from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) although the newly independent Baltic Republics did not send any players as their parent states declined to join this short-lived entity. Georgia was also not a member of the CIS but Kakhaber Tskhadadze was part of the squad. West Germany qualified but after the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and reunification of the country, the team competed as Germany.
The Yugoslavian team had also qualified but UN sanctions imposed after the outbreak of civil war meant they were not permitted to take part. In their place, Denmark were invited to the party and to everyone's surprise, the gatecrashers ran off with the prize.
Attendances were modest but this was no longer of primary importance as broadcasting rights revenues were now of greater significance than ticket sales. UEFA required teams to wear squad numbers on the front of their shirts as well as on their shorts. This was the last tournament held under the existing format.
