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…)

The Silesian stadium has more and more chances for matches of Euro 2012. Above faults in the stadium a great infrastructure overbalanced. And very object is supposed to be restructured by a renowned company from Germany

Chorzów has great chances for organizing at least one match, and Cracow will be the hotel-tourist back - we managed to confirm such information in a few sources on Wednesday.

Meanwhile less than the month ago seemed, that already everything was wasted. From it, what until now we thought, is our advantage i.e. the modernization of the stadium lasting for fourteen years, experts from UEFA made one of main accusations and they poked out the lack of progress in this matter. They also among others criticized us for the low amount of toilets and lack of permanent eating places. They suggested that hosts of the stadium weren’t able to coordinate modernization works and they advised renting the professional company which would do it. (more…)

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…)

Over 100 projects of stay- 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 “.

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Below funny photos form Poland area during EURO 2012 preparations.
Unfortunately trully sad. I hope this will change soon!

Three zone highway project on euro 2012.	The biggest three tragdies in history
Polish railway station.	Polish railway station.
Stadium area in Gdansk in april 2008.	Training stadium in Poznan.

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”.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia 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 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…)

In two-week time the representatives of Polish and Ukrainian football federation will learn the UEFA reports about the conditions 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…)

Kyiv is expected to start building a 206-km long belt highway, the first stage of which (149 km) will be constructed until Euro-2012.

First Deputy Head Denys Bass of the Kyiv City State Administration said the road would include two new bridges across Dnieper. The cost of the construction will reach UAH 20 billion (about USD 4 billion). Kyiv’s authorities consider the issue to build terminals around the city for heavy haulers, which will let to prevent Kyiv from the transit transport. According to the State Service of Automobile Roads, UAH 76.2 billion (some USD 15.2 million) will be allocated for construction and repair of roads in Ukraine within the framework of preparations for Euro-2012 Finals.

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.
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To build a stadium for 30-40 thousand people two, or two and half a year is enough- said in the interview of ‘Rzeczpospolita’ Heinz Palme, the chairman of company ‘Austria przy Pilce’ which coordinates preparations of Austria to Euro 2008 finals.

– Every organizer of championships has a similar problem as Poland. We also have elections and changes of government. In Klagenfurt we managed to begin works at the last moment because first environmentalists protested, politicians quarreled and then documentation concerning a tender leaked out to the press and a court had to intervene. UEFA demands building of stadium for one year before the  sports event-  we can work longer on its infrastructure- but it’s understanding. (more…)

We need Polish Beckenbauer as soon as it’s possible- it’s the conclusion from the meeting concerning organization of Euro 2012. Franz Beckenbauer, in the past a brilliant footballer, was a chief who led preparations for the World Cup 2006 in Germany.

In the conference which was organized in Warsaw ‘Euro 2012- a chance or a risk?’ representatives of Austria and Switzerland shared their experiences in preparing to next year’s European championships with representatives of Polish municipal government. They discussed preparations to Euro 2012. Conclusions weren’t optimistic…

-I think that we are able to organize championships. It isn’t so complicated, but it seems that no one does nothing. So far we haven’t done a plan. Instead of talking by a few months we should decide who and when has to do something. This is the base- claims well-known enthusiast for football, former premier and at present a chairman of Pekao SA bank Jan Krzysztof Bielecki. – What is important is that we have to appoint a chief of the whole project who will have fixed budget. There is a team in Poland but no one knows if this team has funds. With each month this project is more and more at risk. Someone has to start taking decision. We need Polish Beckenbauer- added Bielecki. (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…)