Even though the Euro 2008 championship has just ended, it seems that people's desire for soccer has not been vanquished, otherwise I can't explain the multitude of football-related news today (FIFA Manager 09 and FIFA 09 have been announced and detailed, now this comes). I am sure, however, that just like me, you don't mind too much to hear a thing or two about sports games.

And what you will find out about Football Challenge 08 is that if you check the official website to download the game and start playing it (for free), you will get the chance to play against more than one million other players all over the world! Yes, that's correct! More than you can meet in the second placed subscription-based MMO game!

Developed by Greentube, the same guys that brought us Ski Challenge, Football Challenge is free because it uses in-game advertising. And it's doing it well since Adidas, Canon, Coca Cola, Hyundai, Nokia, Samsung, McDonald's, Sony Ericsson, Dunlop and T-Mobile are just a few of the names which use their services. And, as long as they keep stuff for free, we're glad to play it!

Also, the game is being promoted in no less than eight major game-consumer countries by companies like ORF (Austria), SF (Switzerland), Sport1.de (Germany), Inform Media (Hungary), Zurnal24 (Slovenia), 24sata (Croatia) and Inform Media (Romania), which make sure all the users are connected and the game experience is one of the best. And we tend to believe they do a great job since, as I've said before, no less than 1 million people are already enjoying the game.

"The initial figures clearly and concisely confirm our game concept," says Dr. Eberhard Dürrschmid, Greentube CEO. "In Football Challenge 08, we offer e-sports fans a new format, in the year in which football has taken center stage. During the development of the game, our long-standing expertise and innovative in-game advertising technology came into play to give us a great advantage. Together with our partners we are introducing new energy into the virtual football world, while giving millions of enthusiasts the opportunity to indulge in their passion for the game."