With the excitement surrounding the Olympics this summer, many people may not realize there is another sporting event occurring around the same time: the UEFA European Championship, also known as the European Cup. Similar to the Olympics and the World Cup, the European Cup happens once every four years and features 24 men’s national soccer teams of the countries in Europe. This year, the one month competition will take place in France from June 10th to July 10th.

Considering that sports bring people together, soccer lovers alike will gather from all over the world to watch the Euro Cup. This event will feature 24 European teams split into 6 groups to play in a round-robin style tournament, which will continue until there is one winner. The 2014 World Cup winner Germany is favored to win, with France and Spain as top competitors as well. When France hosted the World Cup, they proceeded to win in 1998. Spain is also a three time defending Euro Cup champion, so these three leading teams are seen as the front runners in this year’s competition. The athletes can look forward to mild temperatures in popular tourist attraction cities such as Nice, Toulouse, Paris, and Marseille. There are 10 different playing venues; the largest stadium holding 80,000 fans and the smallest still holding 33,000 fans. On average, each venue hosts about 5 games, so it will most likely be hard for supporters to be able to see every game because of the distance between the stadiums.

Historically, European and Spanish teams have dominated men’s soccer competitions. Previous World Cup winners include: Brazil holding five titles, Italy and Germany each with four, and teams such as Spain and Uruguay each with two. The United States team has not been as successful in men’s soccer and has yet to win a World Cup or Olympic title, while the women’s national team has had success with 3 World Cup wins, including as recent as the 2015 World Cup in Canada. Comparable to the Copa America Cup for South American teams and the CONCACAF Gold Cup for Central American teams, the Euro Cup offers the unique opportunity for European teams to prove themselves on a smaller scale as champions of their region.

Opening ceremonies of the Olympics begin on August 5th, so many of the players involved in the Euro Cup will be flying to Brazil to compete in those games as well, assuming they have qualified. Both events require qualification, which is why not every country plays in the Olympics. However, events like the Euro Cup offer a chance for teams that might not qualify on a larger scale, to be able to represent their country in front of thousands of fans. Stadiums can hold up to 80,000 fans, so the energy surrounding these games will be very high.

The event will be televised, so be sure to tune in to see rivalries such as England versus Wales and clashes between power houses such as Belgium and Italy. Also, look for appearances from teams that would rarely appear in major competitions such as, Iceland and Albania. The Swiss men’s national team is also looking to redeem themselves, after failing to make it out of the early stages of the World Cup. Recognizable stars include the names Mario Balotelli of Italy, David Silva of Spain, Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Sweden, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, and many more.

Another player, Czech Republic captain Tomáš Rosický, is determined to make the most of this year’s  event due to not playing for his country since June 2015 from a series of injuries. Rosický expressed: “A boy in a camp in Syria said that one of the remaining hopes he has is wanting to see me playing again – that touched me. I saw the tremendous importance football has to people’s lives. I was moved and it really influenced me and inspired me not to give up. This was one of the impulses for me to carry on.” This is  another example of the significance involvement in the Euro Cup has on the athletes as well as their supporters. While this event is definitely not on such a scale as the World Cup or Olympics, it will still likely be highly competitive and an enjoyable tournament.