Euro 2012

Amid fears the Euro 2012 finals were in jeopardy, UEFA has granted tentative approval for Poland and Ukraine to maintain hosting rights for what is one of world soccer’s most important events.

Despite the backing, UEFA warned the joint hosts to speed up their preparations, insisting the hosting deal could still be annulled, sources from European soccer’s governing body said Friday.

Poland and Ukraine were given the reprieve after UEFA’s executive committee met in Bordeaux to discuss a progress report on preparations for the tournament.

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The demolition of „Trojickyj” Shopping Centre near the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, which will be the main Euro 2012 arena, took only one week. In Monday, according to lack of money, the work stopped – announced the newspaper “Sport-ekspres na Ukrainie” in Tuesday.

- If the demolition of the center has been really stopped, this can finally damage all our hopes (connected with organization of Euro 2012 by Ukraine) – said the chairman of the Ukrainian Federation of Football, quoted by the newspaper, Hryhorij Surkis.

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The prime minister of Ukraine Julia Tymoszenko announced on Wednesday, that the Shopping Centre „Trojickyj” near the Olympic Stadium in Kiev will be pulled down, and the stadium will be ready to host the final match of Euro 2012.

- The building (of the shopping centre) will be pulled down. The Olympic Stadium will be modernized in time in order to organize Euro 2012 there – said Tymoszenko on the press conference.

According to the vice-prime minister Iwan Wasiunyk, the modernization of the Olympic Stadium should be finished in 2010.
He informed, that the Olympic Stadium headquarters have agreed with UEFA a bimonthly schedule of the Olympic Stadium’s preparations to the tournament, which will take place in four years’ time.

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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.

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Ukrainian paper “Gazeta 24″ alarms: Poland wants to take the Ukrainian part of Euro!

UEFA does not believe Ukraine can succeed. Poland gets ready for organizing the EURO 2012 final match, says the news.ru portal, referring to the article in “Gazeta Wyborcza”, “Więcej Euro a Polsce, a nawet całe?” (more Euro in Poland, maybe whole?). We informed there that UEFA considers organizing two and not three matches of three groups, both semifinals and final in Poland, not in Kiev.
Even Hryhorij Surkis, chief of Ukrainian Football Association, who rarely comments such news, took the floor: “I talked with Michal Listkiewicz about this fact - said Surkis to the portal “Gazeta 24″ - We both claim to play in one team. What the journalists do is putting a spoke in wheel of ours. We have already lost enough of time.

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Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko of Ukraine has participated in a meeting of the Polish-Ukrainian Committee for the organisation of the EURO 2012. While in Warsaw she also held talks with Prime Minister Donald Tusk on the preparations to the championships.

Both premiers assured that stadiums in Warsaw and Kiev will be built on time and added that both countries will intensify cooperation in the preparation to the championships.

Danuta Isler reports
It was in April 2007 that Ukraine and Poland were named co-hosts for the prestigous tournament. Since then little progress in preparations has been observed in both countries with reports in European press that UEFA was considering reducing the number of games held in Ukraine during Euro 2012 or even moving the event elsewhere. In January UEFA president Michel Platini issued a stern warning to the two countries followed by a recent statement that the tournament may be abandoned if stadiums in Warsaw and Kiev are not ready on time. (read more…)

After reports during Euro 2008 that Poland and Ukraine may lose Euro 2012 Michel Platini’s visits to both countries were treated as enormously important by organizers. Platini didn’t say much while in Poland, which can be read as a good sign, whereas he criticised Ukraine severely when meeting local officials. As a result, UEFA now demands that Poland prepares an allternate plan to organize the tournament all by itself.

Ukraine has no problems with stadiums, which are almost finished in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk. One stadium is to be built in Lviv, whereas the one in Kiev is to be renovated. The latter causes most problems, as the buildng company is yet to be chosen.

Ukraine’s biggest drawback, however, is the lack of infrastructure, that is roads, hotels and airports. Platini wasn’t satisfied with the reports given by Ukrainian politicians and voiced his concerns clearly. To further threaten the Ukrainians news broke out that Poland may organize 2012 alone. Is it possible? (read more…)

After reports during Euro 2008 that Poland and Ukraine may lose Euro 2012 Michel Platini’s visits to both countries were treated as enormously important by organizers. Platini didn’t say much while in Poland, which can be read as a good sign, whereas he criticised Ukraine severely when meeting local officials. As a result, UEFA now demands that Poland prepares an allternate plan to organize the tournament all by itself.

Ukraine has no problems with stadiums, which are almost finished in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk. One stadium is to be built in Lviv, whereas the one in Kiev is to be renovated. The latter causes most problems, as the buildng company is yet to be chosen. Ukraine’s biggest drawback, however, is the lack of infrastructure, that is roads, hotels and airports. Platini wasn’t satisfied with the reports given by Ukrainian politicians and voiced his concerns clearly. To further threaten the Ukrainians news broke out that Poland may organize 2012 alone. Is it possible? (read more…)

WARSAW - UEFA gave a thumbs up Wednesday to Poland’s Euro 2012 preparations despite jitters about the ability of the Poles and their Ukrainian co-hosts to get ready for the football showcase.

“UEFA have given a positive assessment of recent months of preparations for Euro 2012 in Poland,” said a statement published by Warsaw’s sports ministry in the wake of crunch talks between Poland’s leaders and the president of European football’s governing body, Michel Platini.

“They consider that plans are being handled in a professional way, following the best possible examples and in tight cooperation with UEFA experts.

“If the project continues in the same manner as over the past months, it will be a success,” it said. (read more…)

Poland is ready to help Ukraine, if the one won’t be in time with preparations for final championships of the football European championships in 2012 - on Thursday an Ukrainian newspaper wrote in “Siegodnia”, citing the statement of the Polish minister of sport, Mirosław Drzewiecki.

- Theoretically everything is possible, although today it is (defeat of Ukrainian preparations for ME 2012 - PAP) unlikely, improbable. But if something happens, we are ready to think about different plans - a, quoted by the daily newspaper, being responsibility of the richest Ukrainian, the owner of the football Szachtar club minister said Donieck, Rinata Achmetowa.

Writing Ukrainians about delays in preparations for the Euro to 2012 “Siegodnia” resembles appearing in the media and denied by Ukrainian sports activists rumors about the possibility of getting back from Ukraine the right to the organization of championships. (read more…)