EURO 2021

Ukrainian hoteliers are missing out on early bookings for Euro 2012 with reservation databases in host-city hotels still closed for the dates of the event, according to www.booked.net. Less than 250 days from the kick-off of Europe’s top international soccer showcase almost all host-city hotel booking systems in Ukraine, which is co-hosting the tournament alongside Poland, remain closed. Meanwhile, preparations for the 14th European Championship is continuing at pace across Ukraine. Reconstruction of stadiums and key improvements to infrastructure is almost complete in the host-cities of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Lviv and […]

Where even soccer is politics, infrastructure improvements have fallen behind. KIEV — In Ukraine, soccer is simply politics pursued through other means. The vicious and sometimes petty power struggle at the highest reaches of the country’s government has spilled over to its sports fields. Two years ago, UEFA, Europe’s governing soccer body, awarded Ukraine and its Slavic neighbor Poland the prestigious designation as co-hosts of the European soccer championships in 2012. The European championship, held every four years, is the largest international soccer tournament after the World Cup and one […]

Poles are running ahead of schedule with their preparations. Poland is ahead of schedule in its preparations for the 2012 European Soccer Championship. The UEFA commission recently visited Poland and Ukraine to assess the situation and approved the progress made in the Polish cities of Warsaw, Poznan, Gdansk, and Wroclaw, which will host the soccer games. Poland hopes that Ukraine will keep to its schedule and will clear the backlog, otherwise it will be denied the right to host the soccer championship. Our Euro-2012 host cities are Kyiv, Donetsk, Lviv, […]

After a stuttering start, Poland has, unlike Ukraine, finally gained the confidence of UEFA, the governing body of European football, which recently confirmed that four Polish cities will host matches during the Euro 2012 football championships. Following early delays, Poland is likely to have acceptable stadiums in six cities, and the airport and hotel infrastructure looks to be in good shape as well. The problem, as ever in Poland, is with building a modern system of highways and expressways that would allow fans to move easily from venue to venue. […]

Four Polish cities picked; Krakow not on the list After months of waiting and speculation in media from Gazeta Wyborcza to The Guardian, UEFA has finally announced the list of host cities for the 2012 European Championships. At a press conference this morning in Bucharest, UEFA President Michel Platini announced the final choices for host cities for Euro 2012: for Poland, Warsaw, Gdańsk, Wrocław, and Poznań are confirmed. Unfortunately for Krakow, this means the city, along with Chorzów, is now out of the running. Krakow’s mayor took an optimistic tone […]

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.

If more and more real scenario was put into practice and all the matches (or almost all) should be played in Poland what would it mean for the inhabitants of our country? As it is reported (a source similar to Michel Platini) UEFA considers talking back part of the meetings from Ukraine for the benefit of Poland. There is also a possible scenario that both semi-finals and the finals would be played in our country. Would we cope with the organization of the tournament on our own and what would […]

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 […]

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 […]

  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 […]