Euro 2012

Where even soccer is politics, infrastructure improvements have fallen behind. KIEV — In Ukraine, soccer is simply politics pursued through other means. The vicious and sometimes petty power struggle at the highest reaches of the country’s government has spilled over to its sports fields. Two years ago, UEFA, Europe’s governing soccer body, awarded Ukraine and its Slavic neighbor Poland the prestigious designation as co-hosts of the European soccer championships in 2012. The European championship, held every four years, is the [...]

Polish Minister of Sports and Tourism Mirosław Drzewiecki and Andrzej Bogucki, Board Member of PL 2012 have met with a visiting trade mission from Saudi Arabia. The visit of potential investors is the result of Minster Drzewiecki’s, Treasury Minister’s Aleksander Grad’s and Prime Minister’s Donald Tusk’s visit to Saudi Arabia last March. The main subject of the talks were possible investments ahead of the UEFA EURO 2012 Football Championship which will begin in Poland and Ukraine in 1045 days. Andrzej [...]

UEFA president Michel Platini confirmed that the final decision concerning EURO 2012 host cities will be taken in December. During his of the western city of Poznan, Platini said that four Polish cities – Gdansk, Wroclaw, Poznan and Warsaw – as well as the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, have initial approval to host the event. The decision was conditional in the case of three remaining Ukrainian cities, however: “These cities have five more months to work on their progress,” he said. [...]

The finals of the UEFA EURO 2012 championships may be held in Warsaw and not Kyiv, writes Gazeta Wyborcza, quoting recent decisions by UEFA. The final match would be played at the new National Stadium in Warsaw. Reportedly, UEFA is concerned over the number of hotels in Kyiv to accommodate fans, as well as problems with municipal transport and communications. “We are very closely reconsidering changing the the venue of the final” says UEFA president Michel Platini. “At the time [...]