Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- England's absence from the European Championship next year would diminish the soccer tournament as a spectacle and harm it commercially, the event chairman said.

``I really hope and pray that England qualify,'' Friedrich Stickler, who is also president of the Austrian soccer federation, said in an interview on Bloomberg television in Vienna today. ``England is half the tournament.''

Organizers expect as many as 6 million people to travel to host nations Austria and Switzerland for the June 7-29 contest between 16 nations. England, which last failed to reach the finals in 1984, accounted for about 10 percent of all visitors to the 2004 edition in Portugal.

``English fans like to travel,'' Stickler said. ``But this is not as important as the sporting side. England should be here.''

A defeat in Russia last month means England is relying on other countries to keep alive its chances of making the finals. If Russia beats Israel and Andorra, and Croatia doesn't lose against Macedonia, England will miss out on the two qualification spots from the group.

``A nation with such a big history in soccer should be part of Euro 2008,'' Sandra von Ballmoos, a Swiss government spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. ``If England doesn't qualify there will be surely less visitors from the U.K.''

Switzerland and Austria can expect extra spending of more than $1.2 billion from hosting the tournament, organizers said, citing studies in each country.

No Hooligans

Organizers don't expect violence from England fans should the team advance, Stickler said. Hooliganism that hampered tournaments including the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 has subsided as U.K. authorities prevent known troublemakers from traveling to watch England play.

England fans didn't cause serious trouble at last year's World Cup in Germany. Two years earlier about 400 of the team's followers clashed with Portuguese riot police on successive nights in the Algarve resort of Albufeira during Euro 2004.

Four years before that, also at the European Championship, 945 England supporters were expelled from Belgium following riots in Charleroi and Brussels. At the 1998 World Cup, hooligans from the country went on the rampage in Marseille.

Euro 2008 organizers have spent two years liaising with authorities across the continent to ensure troublemakers don't make it to the tournament, Stickler said.

``I'm confident that the English supporters who come will be the ones we want to have, not the troublemakers,'' he said.

Tomorrow, ahead of its final qualification match against Croatia on Nov. 21, England plays Austria in Vienna. In qualifying for last year's World Cup, England won 1-0 at home against Austria before tying 2-2 in Vienna.

``It's always a big battle against England,'' Stickler said. ``I expect a good and very emotional game, a real fight.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Duff in Madrid at at aduff4@bloomberg.net or Wilhelm Kotting in Frankfurt at wkotting@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 15, 2007 05:42 EST