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.

“We’re not thinking of moving it elsewhere,” Gaillard told The Associated Press. “We have to do it there, but in order to do that the efforts have to increase.”

Gaillard also said UEFA was doing everything it could to crack down on illegal ticket scalping online, but that it faced legal constraints.

“In some countries we cannot get a court order that stops someone from reselling tickets,” he said.

Several websites are selling tickets for Euro 2008 games, with prices for the opening match starting at 640 euros (C$1,000) and the best seats for the final in Vienna going for 4,480 euros (C$7,000).

Gaillard said each ticket will be numbered and spot checks may be carried out to ensure that fans acquired them in accordance with UEFA rules.

He warned that “there’s absolutely no guarantee that when you go to the stadium you can get in” with a ticket bought through unofficial channels.

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”.

Ukraine could lose the right to co-host Euro 2012 unless the government acted quickly to stimulate investment in infrastructure, Ukraine football federation president Grigory Surkis warned on Monday.

“The country’s government and the opposition should unite their efforts to make all the necessary changes in the country’s legislation to stimulate investment in the country’s infrastructure,” Surkis told a news conference.

“Time is running out. We now have only days and hours - not years and months at our disposal. If we don’t act quickly, Ukraine may lose the right to host the European championships.”

He added however that he did not consider such a move likely and said the problem was more one of government organisation than of will.

“I hope it will never happen,” Surkis said. “I see the desire of the president and all of the country’s top authorities to do all of their best for staging the European championship in Ukraine.”

Last month UEFA president Michel Platini admitted he had been forced to tell the joint hosts of the 2012 European Championships, Ukraine and Poland, to speed up their preparations for the event.

“We’ve had to wake them up a little and tell them it’s time to get going,” Platini said.

“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 warned last month that the co-hosts faced a crucial period after concerns mounted over the state of preparations for the event.

“I have the distinct feeling that the next four to six months will be crucial in order to avoid any critical slippage in infrastructure projects and to protect the credibility of the Euro project,” Platini said.

Ukraine and Poland are both hosting the continent’s footballing showpiece for the first time.

From:  sports.indiatimes.com

Poland and Ukraine have been told by UEFA president Michel Platini to speed up their preparations for the 2012 European championships. Platini informed both countries that their preparations for the tournament must improve.

“I have the distinct feeling that the next four to six months will be crucial in order to avoid any critical slippage in sports and public infrastructure projects and to protect the global credibility of the Euro project itself,” Platini said during executive committee discussions of the planning stage.

UEFA acknowledged that preparations had suffered because of political instability in the two countries since they won the race to host the finals last April.

Platini demanded governments of the two countries to set up proper management structures in order to closely monitor “all the projects related to Euro 2012″.

Michal Listkiewicz, the president of the Polish FA said: “It is true that we are behind in some projects because of the political turbulence of last year but we are confident that everything will be back on schedule.”

In a statement, UEFA said “By choosing Poland and the Ukraine, UEFA took a momentous decision that gave a strong message to central and eastern Europe.

“It is clear that there has been a certain degree of political instability in both countries in 2007. However, this instability now seems to be over with newly established governments in each country, but there can be no doubt that the launch of investment-intensive projects, such as stadiums, airports and motorways has suffered from the instability.”

Platini added: “UEFA is totally committed to do everything possible in the next few months to assist and support the two associations at both the advisory and administrative level in order to guarantee the success of the project.”

World Cup holders Italy were strongly tipped to win last April’s vote and the decision to award the 2012 finals to the joint bid from eastern Europe came as a shock. However, despite the current uncertainty there was no suggestion from Platini that the finals would be taken away from Poland and Ukraine.

From: www.worldsoccer.com

Stadium in Donieck will be the first arena of Euro 2012 which will come into use. Its opening is expected to be in July next year- announced the representative of city council Aleksander Gromakow during the conference of Polish-Ukrainian Self-Government Forum Euro 2012.

‘It will be the biggest and the most modern object in the eastern part of Europe. A roof made of glass will be its main feature. Apart from the stunning visual effect it is also a practical solution because it has a good effect on the grass preservation’- said Gromakow.

Stadium is patterned on the modernized Benfica’s object in Lisbon. It will hold 55 thousand spectators and its building cost is estimated on 250 million dollars.

‘There will be cafes, restaurants, fast foods and places where one could relax on the area around the stadium. This area will be available for everyone and everyday. So if a family comes to watch a match but a wife doesn’t want to watch it she can spend time visiting one of the facilities around the stadium’- added Gromakow.

So in the next year a new stadium in Dnipropietrovsk is expected to come into use.

‘Conversion of stadium in Charkov is finished in 90 percent. UEFA can add this city to the group of organizers’- said Andrij Mikitiw expert for stadiums in the Ukrainian Football Federation.

Over 60 people, representatives of cities-hosts Euro 2012, the Ukrainian police, Polish embassy in Kiev and the staff of football federation from both countries took part in the conference of Self-Government Forum which lasted a few days in Dnipropietrovsk and Donieck and finished on Saturday.

The government wants to accelerate construction of major Polish roads by as many as four years. According to „Dziennik”, the Ministry of Transport is adjusting the investment programme for the years 2007-2015 to account for the date of the beginning of the football championships EURO 2012.

The modifications will be submitted for interministerial consultations in the forthcoming days – Dziennik writes.

The new plans assume that 700 km of new motorways and 1900 km of new express roads will be constructed by the end of 2011.

As a result the motorways network will have the total of 1900 km, and the total length of express roads will reach 3100 km. But this will cost a lot: still before beginning of EURO 2012 we will spend on roads more than PLN 100 billion out of PLN 131 billion planned for the forthcoming 8 years.

Which investments will be accelerated by roadmen? First of all construction of A-4 motorway. By the beginning of the championships it must be ready in its entirety. It will become the most important road corridor for EURO participants and fans, connecting Poland and Western Europe with the other host of the football matches - Ukraine.

Due to the above, as early as in 2011 drivers will have the possibility to ride from Krakow to Tarnów, and then to Rzeszów and on to the state border in Korczowa.

At the same time construction will be completed of S-7 road from Gdańsk to Warsaw and partly of S-5 road between Bydgoszcz, Poznań and Wrocław.

It is also planned to complete works on S-7 road between Radom and Jędrzejowo as well as Lubień and Rabka. The section from Warsaw to Radom will be ready earlier - in 2009.

Source: „Dziennik”, Adam Woźniak, „Motorways are accelerating”

In Ukraine, there has been a surprise reaction to the news that it has been chosen to host the Euro 2012 along with neighbouring Poland.

The joint bid by the two former Soviet bloc countries had been considered as only having an outside chance of winning, while Italy had been the favourite.

Like Poland, Ukraine has never hosted a major sporting event before.

With tears in his eyes, the president of the Ukrainian Football Federation, Hryhory Surkis, said that for his country it was the greatest result in the history of the game.

Football has a passionate following here, especially since last year when Ukraine took part in the World Cup finals for the first time.

For many people, though, it was a real shock that Ukraine was chosen to co-host the Euro 2012.

“We all hoped for this, and - despite the fact that we had really very strong competitors - we hoped that the victory would be ours and, when this came true, it filled me with emotion,” one fan said.

“I am really surprised and very happy that such a big event will be held in Ukraine,” another fan said.

“A lot of people hoped that it would be held here, and I think it’s great for our country and I feel really proud,” she said.

Celebrations have been somewhat muted, as Ukraine is in the middle of a political crisis.

One TV channel said that it was a great joy for people amid the total craziness of politics.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who took part in the presentation of the bid in Cardiff, said it was a chance for this county to unite.

He declared this was a beautiful opportunity for Ukrainians and Poles to put on an extraordinary sporting event.

Source: BBC News

Yes, against all the odds, Poland and Ukraine will be hosting the European Football Championships in 2012! Their joint bid was announced successful by UEFA chief Michel Platini in Cardiff on 18th April 2007, winning out over more favoured bids by Italy and Croatia/Hungary - and causing widespread jubilation throughout the two Eastern Europe countries.

The action will be spread over six cities in Poland: Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan, Wroclaw, Chorzow and Krakow; and four cities in Ukraine: Kiev, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk. Kiev’s Olympic Stadium, which hosted the football at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, is the proposed venue for the final.

Winning Euro 2012 could bring enormous financial benefits to both Poland and the Ukraine, with some analysts putting the figures as high as 3 billion US Dollars worth of revenue. The tournament will also help shift the balance of power in football, and bring in resources and prestige to help boost the games of East European countries which have traditionally made little mark in international competitions. Euro 2012 will be the first major footballing event held by a country behind, or formerly behind, the Iron Curtain since Yugoslavia hosted the European Football Championships in 1976. It will be the first major sporting event of any kind hosted by an East European country since Moscow Olympics 1980.

Great news then for this part of the world, and a fantastic chance for Poland and Ukraine to show the world what they’re capable of, both in terms of organising the event and competing in it! Of course, we’ll keep you in the know with all the latest Euro 2012 news, fixtures and results - and, if you’re coming to Warsaw to watch a match, we’ll give you the low down on accommodation for booking hotels and apartments, give you travel information and details on getting to and from the airport, plus provide you with a very handy map for tracking down those stadiums. Oh, and we might have a few titbits on pubs, bars and nightlife you might want to read up on!

If however you are travelling to Euro 2012 for matches in other Polish or Ukrainian cities be sure to call on our friends in Gdansk, Poznan, Wroclaw, Krakow, Kiev and Lviv for the most complete guides to the action and the cities.

source: warsaw-life.com