France President Nicolas Sarkozy and soccer great Zinedine Zidane will be part of the bid team trying to secure hosting rights for the 2016 European Championship.
The high-profile support should make France the favorite to woo the 13 voting members from the ruling executive of tournament organizer UEFA in Friday's vote at a Geneva conference center. Each candidate is allowed a 30-minute presentation before the voting begins.
Turkey will have President Abdullah Gul to promote a bid that aims to bring the majority Muslim country into the heart of Europe, while Italy will have soccer great Paolo Maldini fronting its bid. Government support is important because state funding is essential to building projects for the 24-nation, monthlong tournament.
``We are happy to be competing against two great candidates,'' Turkish Football Federation head Mahmut Ozgener told NTV television from Geneva. ``(But) we can put on a better organization and we believe that we will do so.''
France's bid calls for $2.1 billion investment in a pool of 12 stadiums, at least nine of which are needed to stage the 51 scheduled matches. New arenas are promised in Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon and Nice, and UEFA has praised the long-term legacy the bid could create.
Sarkozy's government, plus regional and city authorities, have pledged $820 million in public funds. Another $620 million in private financing is already secured.
Turkey intends to spend $1.14 billion on nine venues, seven of which are new, to host its first major international soccer finals.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan guaranteed state backing for the entire budget when UEFA's inspection team visited candidates last month. Turkey must also invest in transportation, hotels and other infrastructure, and says the national modernization plan is already under way.
Italy proposes to spend $922 million - of which $792 million is state-guaranteed - to upgrade stadiums that have lagged behind European standards since it hosted the 1990 World Cup.
France, which won the 1998 World Cup at home with Zidane on the roster, also hopes Euro 2016 can be a catalyst for change. Like Italy, it has hosted two previous European Championships, including its 1984 victory by a team captained by Michel Platini.
Platini is now the popular UEFA president who has quietly approved the French bid, but did not campaign and will not vote. Turkey's Senes Erzik and Italy's Giancarlo Abete also will leave their 13 executive colleagues to choose the winner.
