Madrid, June 25:

A newspaper claims more than 10,000 people have pledged to shave their heads if Spain win the European Championship.

The campaign by sports daily Marca shows how Spain have worked themselves into a lather of national enthusiasm now that their team has reached the semi-finals of a major football tournament for the first time since 1984.

Spain, whose only major title was winning the 1964 European Championship at home, play Russia on Thursday in the Euro 2008 semi-finals at Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria.

“I, a hardline fan all my life, do hereby solemnly promise, before Marca.com, the country’s fans and the team, to shave every last hair off my Spanish head if the team wins Euro 2008,” reads the pledge on the newspaper’s Web site. As of Wednesday, the Web site said more than 10,500 people have signed up. “The team needs all the support it can get from its fans,” the paper wrote online, alongside doctored photos of bald young men wearing the national side’s red-and-yellow jersey.

If Spain reach and win the June 29 final, the newspaper will raffle off 20 cameras as prizes to those who have already sent in pictures of their bald heads.

But what about any cheaters who already had hairless heads like deceased actor Yul Brynner and send in photos to get in on the action? “We trust in people’s good faith. You have to trust people.” Juanjo Anaut, chief editor of the newspaper’s Web site, said.