The 21st U-17 European Football Championship was held in Portugal from May 7th to 17th, 2003 . For the first time a UEFA tournament was held in Portugal. A year later, the European Championship of the senior national teams was held in Portugal. The hosts won with a 2-1 victory over Spain . Defending champion Switzerland , like Germany, could not qualify. For the first time, the tournament was held with only eight teams.
The eight qualified teams were divided into two groups of four teams each. Within the groups, each team played each other once. The group winners and runners-up reached the semi-finals. The semi-final winners reached the final in the losers played for third place.