EURO 2021

Polish football fans have celebrated the launch of the biggest stadium for this year’s Euro 2012 finals with a free music festival and fireworks display. The newly-constructed National Stadium in Warsaw will host the opening match of the four-yearly tournament on June 8 when co-hosts Poland take on Euro 2004 winners Greece in Group A. The first 40,000 fans to arrive on Sunday were given the chance to see Polish pop acts including VooVoo i Haydamaky, Zakopower, Coma, T. Love and Lady Pank. The at the 50,000-seat arena, which will […]

A coach should have a detailed plan for every group match. Franciszek Smuda, 63, has been leading the national team for 25 months. – In the clubs he used to be adamant. He worked hard for a great respect and recognition, because he focused on the work with the team and he wasn’t interested in nothing else – says Marek Koźmiński, 46-time representative, a silver Olympic medalist from Barcelona from 1992, who played over 100 matches in Series A and appeared at the World Cup in Korea. – In the […]

The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association co-organized the high-profile ‘Poland for All’ event together with the Polish Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, the City of Warsaw and the Polish Association of Former Players. It took place at the Warsaw Agrykola stadium on 14 October. The event formed a part of the Football Against Racism in Europe Action Weeks. One of the event’s attractions was a match involving players of Warsaw’s multicultural Ethnoleague and Polish football stars, including legends such as the former internationals Dariusz Dziekanowski, Radoslaw Majdan and Roman […]

With the Polish venues on track in their preparations for co-hosting Euro 2012, the lingering concern for the country’s football fans is whether they will have a national team capable of putting up a respectable performance. Coach Franciszek Smuda has seen his side fall as far as 73rd in FIFA’s admittedly farcical ranking system, with the dearth of playing talent a regular topic for the country’s footballing media. Many wonder what happened to the squad that won the European Under-18 Championship in Finland in 2001. That team included Tomasz Kuszczak, […]

The National Stadium will be officially opened on 27 August. On that day, there will be an artistic event called “Energia pokoleń” (Energy of Generations). Artistic show for the opening of the National Stadium The names of the invited artists and the scenario are still secret. In the official announcement on the NCS website it is stated that “the opening ceremony, the scenario of which was selected by means of a nationwide contest, will be an unique event, full of surprising special effects, amazing choreography and music”. The organizer of […]

National Stadium in Warsaw, the main arena of the Polish part of the European Football Championships in 2012 will be ready as planned in June 2011 in spite of the problems related to severe winter – ensures National Sports Centre. Polish-Ukrainian championships will start in two years on Monday. The facility, estimated to invite 55,000 spectators, will become a sport card of the capital. During Euro 2012 an opening match, one quarterfinal and one semifinal match will be held. Here, in the future official matches will be played by the […]

CNN’s new series i-List takes you to a different country each month. In June, we visit Poland focusing on changes shaping the country’s economy, culture and its social fabric. Warsaw, Poland (CNN) — Football fever is already gripping Poland ahead of co-hosting the European Championships in 2012. Despite the national team’s absence from the World Cup in South Africa, the country’s sports fields are packed with children and amateur footballers getting into the mood. When Poland and Ukraine host Euro 2012, they will be the first Eastern European countries to […]

According to the requirements UEFA, the residential centers for teams are supposed to be ready in a year already, but actually will not be. – We will ask for more time – announces Olkowicz Adam, vice-president of the Polish Football Association. Up to 44 Polish towns would like to host 16 final groups of the European Championships, but for the time being any center meets UEFA requirements. Representations have to have available at least a four-star hotel with 60 rooms, football field for thousand of spectators and three training places. […]

Former Poland forward Grzegorz Lato was voted president of the Polish FA (PZPN) on Thursday in an election called to avoid FIFA sanctions and the potential loss of the country’s right to co-host Euro 2012 with Ukraine. Lato, top scorer at the 1974 World Cup, took 57 of 112 votes to win outright in the first round. He beat FA secretary-general Zdzislaw Krecina and government favourite Zbigniew Boniek, another ex-Poland forward, who got 36 and 19 votes respectively. Lato said a successful Euro 2012 was one of his main goals […]

Coach: Leo Beenhakker Group B: Germany, Croatia, Austria, and Poland Introduction Cause For Optimism There has never been a better time to be a Polish football fan. A burgeoning squad developing in self belief under the guidance of one of the shrewdest managers around, the time is right for Poland to shake off their tags as international under achievers at Euro 2008. Qualification for the tournament already indicated that Poland are becoming a force to be reckoned with. Drawn into Group A, with 8 teams, it was always going to […]