June 10, 2004
Whoa, Nelly! It seems England midfielder Owen Hargreaves, who grew up in Calgary, won't be the only Canadian content at Euro 2004 in Portugal.

Canadian singer Nelly Furtado, who has Portugese parents, will perform her tune FORCA live at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon during a ceremony prior to the tournament final July 4.

FORCA, which has been declared the official song of Euro 2004, is off Furtado's album Folklore, which has sold more than one million copies.

"I am looking forward to coming back to Portugal," Furtado said. "I wrote it with the passion Portuguese people have for football in mind and I hope this comes through."

Organizers are tickled.

"It is important she understands how important the game is to people here in Portugal," said Gilberto Madail, chairman of the Euro 2004 SA board.