The euphoria which gripped Ukraine and Poland on April 18, 2007 after winning the right to host Europe’s football championship, EURO 2012, has come to nothing.
A year after the triumphal hugs and kisses, the two countries’ preparations have progressed so poorly that Football Federation of Ukraine President Hryhoriy Surkis, and Football Federation of Poland President Michal Listkiewicz had to explain the situation in detail to the Union of European Football Association’s executive committee in last March.
The National Agency to Prepare and Host EURO 2012 was established to coordinate all state structures in Ukraine. Its chair, Yevhen Chervonenko, constantly criticizes the Cabinet of Ministers for ignoring his organization’s problems.
“I consider the level of financial support for the Agency by the government to be embarrassing,” he said of the EURO 2012 preparation funding. “The government scoffs not at me (I don’t care — I’m a self-sufficient person), it scoffs at Ukraine,” adding,”I have been spending my own personal money to maintain the agency. The cars, computers in the office – everything was bought with my own money. I have spent and spend without regret.” (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…)
Polish-Ukrainian government contract about the cooperation by common organization of the Football European Championships - Euro 2012 will be signed on 18 April. A minister of sport and tourisms Mirosław Drzewiecki expressed such beliefin the published on Saturday conversation with the Kiev weekly “Dzerkało Tyżnia”.
- I would like that the agreement should be signed 18 April, that is year after granting Poland and Ukraine the right to carrying out of finals of the European championships in the football - said. The minister thinks that the intergovernmental agreement about the cooperation in the matter of the organization Euro 2012 should lead to the closer coordination of action of Poland and Ukraine.(more…)
Over 100 projects ofstay- training centers were proposed in Poland as possible places of the accommodation participating in finals of the football European championships in 2012 teams - a minister of sport and tourisms, Mirosław Drzewiecki informed in the interview for TVN24.
The time of submitting an offer for bases of individual teams is passing on Friday, of 15 February. Drzewiecki said that through two next weeks the commission consisting from workers of the Ministry of Sport and the Polish Association of the football would select the centers, and chosen will be proposed to UEFA. - We will reject the ones which do not fulfill conditions required by the European Football Union. I hope that there will be over 30 for the European federation - said.ry “.
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 inPoland. Herra metwith 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…)
UkrainianPrime MinisterYulia Tymoshenko and her Polish counterpart Donald Tusk on Friday promised their countries would co-host the European football championship in 2012 successfully.
Tymoshenko and Tusk made the remarks after the two sides signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in organizing and holding of the 2012 football championship. (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 Infoon 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…)
JSK Architekci company has shown a visualization and a miniature of the National Stadium. Its elevation refers to the national colours and imitates the waving Polish flag. It is so-called conceptional project.
Zbigniew Pszczulny from JSK Architekci assured that the building fulfills all the UEFA requirements. The new stadium will be located at the existing embankment (strenghtened by stairs) of the 10th-Anniversary Stadium. The pitch will be located about nine meters higher than the existing one. Parkings for about 1700 cars will be build below the pitch and the access will be enabled by special tunnels.
The elevation made from pellucid elements will provide to the viewers the eye-contact with the stadium surrounding. Two encircling galeries will enable a proper communication. The designers has proposed very original construction of the roof which will be built over the bleachers. The pitch will be partly roofed - a kind of ‘umbrella’ folding outwards. The National Stadium will receive 55 thousands viewers. The tribunes will contain special press seats (860), 2000 so-called ‘premium’ seats for guests of honour, seats for the disabled and about 900 seats in lodges for VIPs.(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…)
The Prime Ministe,r Donald Tusk, ensured the presidents of cities - organizers of the EURO 2012 football championship that the build of stadiums in Gdansk, Wroclaw and Poznan will be co-financed by the central budget. During a meeting in Warsaw the Prime Minister and the representatives of praticular cities presented a schedule of the championship spadework and
the miniatures of building where the football matches will be played. Additionally, Donald Tusk informed about the calling of the Organizational Committee where he was going to be leader.
The intention of the Wednesday meeting it was not to quiten anybody. EURO championship is a great challenge so we need to work in the high agog. The rebuke of UEFA is not a problem, it is a support. - Tusk comments on the latest Europe Federation rating which put an attention to the ‘delay’ in Polish and Ukrainian preparation to the EURO 2012. The committee included, among others, vice-premiers Waldemar Pawlak and Grzegorz Schetyna, the Minister of Infrastructure - Cezary Grabarczyk, the Minister of Sport and Tourism - Mirosław Drzewiecki, four presidents of the following cities: Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw and Wroclaw, the representaitve of PZPN and the leaders of all the parliamentary clubs. Tomasz Arabski was pointed as the committee’s secretary.(more…)
In two-week time the representatives of Polish and Ukrainian football federation will learn the UEFA reports about theconditions of EURO 2012 preparations. On the base of those reports further steps for the coming months will be defined.
During the meeting in Nyon all reports created on the base of UEFA experts’ visit in Poland and Ukraine (October 2007) will be shown. One report will deal with stadiums, the another one: transport infrastructure, which means roads, rails, airports and accomodation - said the leader of PZPN group that takes care of EURO 2012, Adam Olkowicz.(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…)
None of cities in Poland is as good prepared to the European football championships as Wroclaw, so you don’t have to afraid yellow card from UEFA - says Jan Tomaszewski, famous goalkeeper of Polish squad and sports activist. Today a five-person team of experts from the European Football Federation will be judging preparations of city to Euro 2012.
Experts who their experiences gained during many football events are going to be divided into three teams to examine building plans of stadium, roads in Wroclaw, communications, airport and hotels. They will also examine plans of football fan centres that is places where you can watch matches on large outdoor screens. (more…)
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.
progress.
