Euro 2012

GENEVA — UEFA president Michel Platini will visit Poland and Ukraine in July to check on their preparations for co-hosting the 2012 European Championship.

The two countries have to intensify their efforts over the next few months in order to meet UEFA’s requirements, Platini told a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday.

But “there is no Plan B,” he said, referring to possible alternative venues in case the former eastern bloc states fail to put in place the necessary infrastructure to host the event.

UEFA spokesman William Gaillard said Platini will travel to Poland and Ukraine after Euro 2008, held in Austria and Switzerland in June.

Gaillard said UEFA’s main concern is whether the hotels and transportation networks - including airports, railways and roads - will be sufficient to host the hundreds of thousands of fans expected for the event. (more…)

A match-fixing scandal and a complacent attitude towards construction may undermine Poland’s ability to co-host Euro 2012

There is a rumour going around that Poland-Ukraine was awarded the rights to host Euro 2012 only by embittered Lennart Johansson acolytes looking to screw up Michel Platini’s reign. It is, almost certainly, nothing more than mischief-making, and yet there was a strange pause as Platini opened the envelope that could, with hindsight, be construed as horror. On that momentous day in Cardiff, west seemed to offer an arm to east and talk of the football family didn’t seem quite so hopelessly utopian, but since then optimism has withered. There are always scare stories ahead of major events, but recent events in Poland suggest these have more substance than most.

Securing the tournament was Michal Listkiewicz’s finest hour, finer even than running the line in the 1990 World Cup final (a photograph of which still adorns the back of his business card). As the president of the Polish football federation (PZPN) spoke about delivering a great victory for the family of Slavs, it was possible even to forget for a moment that it isn’t just his hair that has appeared to be made of Teflon. (more…)

The president of UEFA, Michel Platini appealed to organizers of the football European championships in 2012, Poles and Ukrainians, in order to “wake them up” in the realization of the program of preparations for this event.

Euro 2012 found the good place, but some people say that more brisk movements are needed from the side of both countries - on the webpage pointing to the opinion of Platini was written. The UEFA in 30th of the January presented the critical report on preparations of organizers of championships, underlining, that “the closest months will have deciding meaning in order to avoid harmful delays in the realization of projects concerning the infrastructure”.

Decision, in which Polish cities matches of Football European Championship 2012will be played, will be taken after making reports on the subject of stadiums and the infrastructure by UEFA - said a director of 2012 PL company Marcin Herra.

The company is responsible for a coordination of all works connected with the organization of finals of the football European championships in 2012 in Poland. Herra met with regional and self-government authorities of Cracow, Katowice and Chorzów on Wednesday. At the beginning of the April an UEFA delegation will come to Poland in order to judge the state of building works of stadiums on Euro 2012. In May an infrastructure report is supposed to be done. (more…)

Michel Platini, the head of the European football body UEFA, has warned Euro 2012 co-hosts Ukraine and Poland to speed up their preparations. Neither Ukraine nor Poland has hosted a major championship before, and Platini has stressed his growing concerns over their progress.

“We’ve had to wake them up a little and tell them it’s time to get going,” Platini told French radio France Info on Thursday. “The 2012 Euro will still be held (there), but we’ve told them in the nicest possible way to speed things up a bit.”

Platini first warned the co-hosts back in January, highlighting the importance of the next six months. (more…)

Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk declared a donation from the national budget - the one-third of the whole building cost - for those cities that organize football Euro Championship. Confederation of Polish Employers claims that it is a good step in a good direction.

The present-day press conference of the Prime Minister showed that all the preparation to the EURO 2012 are conducted on schedule. However, UEFA has recently criticized our previous achievements and rebuked an organizational chaos with too much politics’ influence on championship’s preparation - claim CPE representatives.

On many occasions, Confederation Polish Employers showed the borders that had hindered proper arrangements of EURO 2012 and presented posibilities of their solution. CPE also indicated that the wrong building code will just elongate the completion date of the whole investment (sometimes their formal arrangement occupies a half of the whole investment’s time). (more…)

Poland and Ukraine have been warned by governing body Uefa to speed up their preparations for Euro 2012.

There have been concerns that political change in both countries has affected projects such as stadiums and roads.

“The next four to six months will be crucial to avoid any critical slippage in infrastructure projects,” said Uefa president Michel Platini.

Uefa general secretary David Taylor added: “There has been progress, but it needs to be accelerated.”

Platini made the statement after a two-day meeting of Uefa’s executive committee in Zagreb which reviewed a report on the progress the two countries have made. (more…)

Safety in stadium in cities-hosts of Euro 2012 its the issue raised during Polish-Ukrainian conference in Dnipropietrovsk. Both countries will be co-hosts of the championships.

Over 60 people take part in the conference which was organized as part of Polish-Ukrainian Self-Government Forum Euro 2012. They are representatives of cities-hosts of Euro 2012, representatives of the Ukrainian policy, the Polish embassy in Kiev and the staff of football federations from the both countries.

‘The European Championships are the third sports event in the world and because of that the requirements of UEFA are huge- said a director for safety in Polish Football Federation Wieslaw Wieczorek. One of the requirements is to come into use all stadiums in June 2012. We already know that it’s impossible and there will be delays. Of course UEFA will be informed about it’. (more…)

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) experts first visit has begun on Monday in Warsaw, regarding the arrangement of championship of Europe in 2012.

“UEFA divided the whole complex of preparations into eight classes. The current visit relates to land transport, air transport and accomodation” – informed the chairman of  PZPN unit for Euro 2012 Adam Olkowicz. (more…)

Poles and Ukrainians have serious technical problems, but Italians can relieve them and take over duties of the organizer of Euro 2012 at any time- we read in today’s edition of the “Dziennik”.

These words were said by Giancarlo Abete, chairman of FIGC (Italian Football Federation). After Wednesday’s match of Ukraine with Italy Abete announced:- Problems of Poland and Ukraine are well-known for us. We are constantly outdistancing them because we do not count on politicians but we do our job- we build stadiums, develop infrastructure. If UEFA appreciates our effort and figures out that Poland and Ukraine won’t manage, we will be ready. (more…)

It left only 1800 days to the greatest event in the history of Poland. Although decision concerning organization of the European Football Championships in Poland and Ukraine was taken four months ago, the Government still hasn’t taken a list of investment which have to be carried out till the opening of Euro 2012, and also hasn’t prepared package of legal-organization changes which introduction in life is essential for Poland so as not to bring shame in the European arena…

Euro 2012 is not only a chance for historic sports success(Poles so far haven’t played in the European Football Championship finals) but also a chance for the promotion of the country as well as a chance for binging forward the realization of some cultural backwardness. After four months since granting the right to organize football championships it seems, that for the government institutions this decision was like a bolt out of the blue. Although nearly the next day after announcing the name of countries - finals host government and parliamentary policymakers announced bringing forward the realization of strategic investments, and no binding decisions has been taken till the middle of August. – There is no doubt that organization of Euro 2012 will initiate many positive processes which results can be perceptible for a long time. The motion, improvement in the realization of projects, simplifications of some procedures connected with realization of great investments are things which we need- says Wladyslaw Ortyl, deputy minister of regional development. (more…)

Does UEFA take away the opening match Euro 2012 from Poland? It may be possible. According to experts building a National Stadium in Warsaw even till the middle of 2011 is now practically impossible. And this is the only place in Poland where the European Championships could start. Forecasts concerning our preparations to Euro 2012 look more and more gloomy. According to experts Warsaw will not be ready with a building of the National Stadium for 55 thousand spectators where the European Championships are planned to be inaugurated. It is said that the opening match and also the closing of Euro 2012 will be given to Ukraine. In Poland only group matches will take place. How is it possible?

Poland undertook to build the National Stadium till the middle of 2010. Elżbieta Jakubiak, the Minister for Sport, admitted recently that it is impossible to carry out this contract and that is why she wants to ask UEFA to extend the time limit for one year. But the problem is that Jakubiak is not a side with whom UEFA can negotiate. – The contract for the organization of championships was signed by both the president of the Polish Football Association and by the head of the Ukrainian Football Federation. And only these two men can renegotiate this contract. But from what I know it appears that so far no one from our association spoke about the extension of time limits not only with UEFA but also with Ukrainian Football Federation without which we can do nothing – says Barłomiej Marks, coordinator Euro 2012 in PZPN (the Polish Football Association). (more…)

The gadgets sold with the logo of Poland-Ukraine Bid are illegal. The Internet domain names including references to EURO 2012 that are registered on mass scale may prove to be worthless.

In their bid Poland and Ukraine committed themselves to support UEFA in enforcement of its industrial property rights covering the rights to the logo of Poland and Ukraine bid and logo of the future Championships. Authorities of both countries are to help the organizers in combating the so-called ambush marketing, i.e. practices consisting in marketing of goods and services based on associations with the European Championships. UEFA pays particular attention to such practices and therefore e2012.org publishes the following statement of UEFA on that matter:

(more…)

But wait a minute…have UEFA been smoking too many Jamaican cigarettes, or something?We watched with baited breath as UEFA president, Michele Platini (above), stood on stage in Cardiff, Wales, and slowly tore open the envelope. It was between Croatia/Hungary, Italy and Poland/Ukraine. Everyone expected Italy.

Half of me didn’t want Poland to win, as I knew I would have to throw together something about the story in about half an hour. The other half of me - the footballing half (the bits with legs and feet) - wanted Poland to win.

And then the ex-French mid-fielder pulled out the card with the names of the winning bid on it, and the footballing half took over. I emitted that noise men make when a goal is scored:

Yeeeaahhhhaaaarrrgggggggg…gurgle….

The same noise slowly echoed through all the offices next to mine and floated, like a Mexican wave, down the corridor.

Then my brain kicked in again, along with the rest of Poland’s. Have the guys in the European football governing body gone out of their tiny minds?

There are a few small problems with Poland and Ukraine being given such a huge sporting event to put on. Here are a just a few of them.

Poland has no…um…decent football stadiums.

Poland’s football governing body was suspended by the government earlier this year because it was not doing enough kicking ou (more…)