Ever keen to court controversy and promote rivalry between writers on a blog (we’ll post photos of horrific and bloody injuries later), I’m pleased to report that contrary to previous reports you may have seen on these pages, there are plenty of hotel beds to be had in June, at least in Zurich.

According to the Austrian Association of Hoteliers, June is going to be a much quieter month for them this year than last. Mainly due to the lack of business bookings (what, they’re scared of thousands of football fans? Come on, England didn’t even qualify!), the days in between games are looking fairly empty.

Presumably you can also get a room in a house with Austria fans (this happens at most major tournaments), but be prepared to console them after the 16^th June when their hopes lie shattered like so many dropped steins after Germany have given them a sound thrashing at the Ernst Happel. After all, 39 places separate them in the FIFA World Rankings, and the German team have 12 competitive games in their legs thanks to the qualifying matches, compared to the staid friendlies the host nations have had to endure.

In an attempt to draw people to Zurich during the tournament, this great site has been put together to entice visitors. Containing news of the Fan Zone (bookmark this site for more news of that, by the way) and the Fan Mile, along with useful tourist info, this is a must-visit website for anyone planning to get to Austria in June.

It even comes complete with a countdown of how long to go before the first match kicks off. Can you believe it is only 46 days, 7 hours, 16 minutes and 24 seconds before the tournament starts. Hang on, make that 19 seconds…..16 seconds….