Euro 2012 will take place in four Polish and four Ukrainian cities with the final match in Kiev – decided UEFA Executive Committee, which finishes deliberations on the Portuguese island, Madera.
Recent decisions of the government, which granted additional means for preparations and approved financial plan, decided about such division – admitted Michael Platini.
- It’s victory of Ukraine – said, with relief, the Prime Minister Julia Tymoszenko at a special press conference. – I’m happy that the championships will take place in all four Ukrainian cities!
Likewise most of the Ukrainians who were anxiously waiting for UEFA’s decisions. Now Ukraine may breathe a sigh of relief – we got everything we’ve been concerned about since May.
After a stuttering start, Poland has, unlike Ukraine, finally gained the confidence of UEFA, the governing body of European football, which recently confirmed that four Polish cities will host matches during the Euro 2012 football championships.
Following early delays, Poland is likely to have acceptable stadiums in six cities, and the airport and hotel infrastructure looks to be in good shape as well. The problem, as ever in Poland, is with building a modern system of highways and expressways that would allow fans to move easily from venue to venue.
When UEFA took the unusual and risky step of awarding the championships to Poland and Ukraine two years ago, the right-wing government of the time promised to build 3,000 km of highways and less expensive and slightly slower expressways by 2012. The man in the hot seat now is infrastructure minister Cezary Grabarczyk, who is coming under increasingly intense pressure from Donald Tusk, the prime minister, to ensure that the road programme is not a disaster. Grabarczyk has already toned down his predecessor’s promises, admitting that 2,000 km is more realistic, but even getting that amount completed by 2012 would break Poland’s longstanding inability to build roads speedily.
There are no large problems in Poland – said Michel Platini, who came with 2 days long business trip to Poland.
- Poland and Ukraine have to continue their efforts. Six to eight cities, that will organise championship, are going to be chosen on 13 May- he said. One of factors deciding which city is chosen are contracts with hotels for so called UEFA family, that means campaigners, referees, sponsors, etc. rooms. Along with UEFA delegation in Poland, there appeared a lot of speculation about particular cities chances in race to Euro 2012.
- It is actually a problem- Platini explained. There aren’t enough of hotels in Ukraine, in Poland there are enough of them but there are problems to book as many rooms as we need. I know, that representatives of Polish Football Association and the Ministry of Sport are planning visits in applying cities to discuss the problem with hotels’ owners.
UEFA gives an ultimatum. Stadiums in Warsaw and Kiev have to come into being. Otherwise, we will lose championships.
There is no plan “B” for Warsaw and Kiev. If the stadium are not built in these cities on time, the Europe championships will be taken away by Germany or Russia.
- UEFA does not imagine the situation in which Euro 2012 would not take place in the capitals of Poland and Ukraine – Warsaw and Kiev’ says Michael Listkiewicz, the chairman of the Polish Football Association.
Michel Platini has already been talking about it after the meeting of Executive Committee of UEFA making organizers think about it ‘Whether Euro will take place in Poland and Ukraine depends on the pace of works in the main arenas in Warsaw and Kiev.
It Was the shortest football war of modern Europe. After a week’s clash with PZPN polish government capitulated.
The removal of the probation officer from the PZPN and instead of this a supervision of a special commission on election in the association, which in addition to this is going to bind itself to eliminate all the offences discovered by the ministerial control – that is the price which both sides had to pay not to let the ultimatum set by FIFA come into force. On wednesday, two days after the probation officer had been inducted to the PZPN the International Federation of Association Football threatened that it will suspend Polish football representation in selection matches for mundial. That would effect in canceling the matches with the Czech Republic and Slovakia planned fot 11th and 15th of October.
Decision, if Ukraine will be able to organize Euro 2012 with Poland, will be made in September. Michel Platini, the chairman of the UEFA was talking about this in Florence.
According to his words, the organization of the tournament by Poland is not threatened. During the talk with journalists Platini has announced, that the progress of preparations to Euro 2012 in both countries is not bad.
Italian daily paper “La Repubblica” expressed an opinion that nobody will take back Euro 2012. Italian media suggested before that the tournament would take place on the Apenine Peninsula.
Such comment was on the margin of the conversation with the president of UEFA Michel Platini who was staying in Italy. Platini, when asked if there is any news concerning Ukraine that is preparing Euro 2012 answered: “no, none”.
Experiences of other countries show, that the organization of the Championships, most of all, gives benefits for companies which take part in tourist traffic service, improves an image of given country, and also causes great development of infrastructure.
According to preliminary approximations, about half a million foreign supporters should arrive in Poland during Euro 2012. Dynamic development of the hotel base will be necessary to accommodate all guests. Experts predict, that it should be improved by building new 30 000 hotel places. In Warsaw, Gdańsk, Poznań and Wrocław, (so-called basic cities), and in reserve cities – Chorzów and Kraków, many decisions are being made and their aim is an extension of hotel base with missing places.
According to data published by Main Statistic Department (in Polish – Główny Urząd Statystyczny) the hotel infrastructure in Poland in last months of 2007 consisted of 1 370 objects. 108 of them were in categorization process. During 2007 75 new hotel objects have been built in Poland. Most of all new hotels have been built in voivodships: Dolnośląskie (15), Małopolskie (22), Pomorskie (10) and currently the number of them in all these voivodships is 820 which is 60% of all hotel objects in Poland.
If more and more real scenario was put into practice and all the matches (or almost all) should be played in Poland what would it mean for the inhabitants of our country?
As it is reported (a source similar to Michel Platini) UEFA considers talking back part of the meetings from Ukraine for the benefit of Poland. There is also a possible scenario that both semi-finals and the finals would be played in our country. Would we cope with the organization of the tournament on our own and what would it mean for Poland?
Stadium abundance
Stadium for Euro 2012 are prepared in Warsaw, Poznan, Gdansk, Wroclaw, Chorzów and Krakow. If it turned out that Poland have to organize the event without the help of Ukraine, we would have to build 8 stadiums. Then, the soccer activists point that Zabrze with the stadium Górnik and Warsaw with the stadium Legia could take part in Euro.
The President of Ukrainian Federation Soccer admitted that it’s probable that the majority of Euro 2012 matches including finals, would be played in Poland. The Prime Minister of Ukraine is a bigger optimist.
Ukrainians have the biggest problems with the infrastructure, especially with old airports. What’s more, there is also a problem with Olympic Stadium where finals are planned. An object that can accommodate 75.000 spectators is supposed to be entirely rebuilt and extend to about 85.000 seats. A Taiwanese company that won a bidding for the modernization of the stadium wants to alter plans and reduce the tribunes to about 50.000 seats. The costs of works increased by about 100 million dollars. That is why Taiwanese people had the work license taken back.
