UEFA Euro 2012

Infobox International Football Competition
tourney_name =
year =
other_titles = Mistrzostwa Europy w Piłce Nożnej 2012 "pl icon"
Чемпіонат Європи з футболу 2012 "uk icon'


size = 180px
caption = UEFA Euro 2012 official candidate logo
country = Poland
country2 = Ukraine
holder = Spain
dates = June 9 – July 1
num_teams = 16
venues = 8
cities = 8

The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2012, will be the 14th European Championship for national football teams sanctioned by UEFA. Poland and Ukraine will be the host nations of the final tournament, scheduled for the summer of 2012, following the election of their joint-bid by UEFA's Executive Committee, on April 18, 2007, in Cardiff, United Kingdom. This bid defeated the other shortlisted bids from Italy and Croatia/Hungary, becoming the third successful joint-bid for the European Championship, after those of Belgium/Netherlands, for Euro 2000, and Austria/Switzerland for Euro 2008.

Background

The Polish-Ukrainian hosting is seen as a way of shifting the focus towards regions and nations of central and eastern Europe, whose population demonstrates a strong feeling for football, but are less developed in terms of the quality of the local leagues and football infrastructure, when compared with western Europe. Apart from Chorzów, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk, the host cities are all popular tourist destinations. However, it is unclear if they have sufficient experience in accommodating large numbers of visitors for extended stays, and the existing transportation infrastructure within and between both countries is inadequate to allow a rapid flow of people between the venues. In order to improve this situation, the bid plans the expansion and modernization of roads and highways (e.g., Poland's southwest–southeast A4 highway [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=afp-fbleur2012ukrpol&prov=afp&type=lgns Poland 'confident' on Euro 2012 chances despite jitters] ] ). The obligatory improvement of the football infrastructure includes the building of the new Shakhtar Stadium in Donetsk, which fits the 5-star UEFA criteria, and the near-completed 31,000-seat Dnipro Stadium in Dnipropetrovsk.

Readiness concerns

Enduring concerns about the progress of infrastructure improvements are making a change of venue a real possibility. On January 30, 2008, UEFA president Michel Platini went on the record to warn the organizers of the need to avoid "critical slippages" in their preparations [ [http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/7737566/Platini-warns-Poland,-Ukraine-on-Euro-2012-delays Platini warns Poland, Ukraine on Euro 2012 delays] ] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7437379.stm BBC SPORT | Football | Internationals | Scots eye Euro 2012 rescue plan ] ] . Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko replied on June 11, 2008 that Ukraine's preparations for Euro 2012 were proceeding normally and that she was confident all projects would be completed on time. [cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldFootballNews/idUKL1178662020080611 |title=Soccer-Ukraine Prime Minister optimistic on Euro 2012 plans |publisher=Reuters UK |date=2008-06-11 |accessdate= 2008-06-11] However, an official from the Ukrainian football federation stated the next day that Ukraine could lose the right to co-host the event due to delays in the renovation of Kiev’s Olympic stadium. [cite news |url=http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-euroukraine&prov=reuters&type=lgns |title=Ukraine may lose Euro 2012 due to stadium, says official |work=Yahoo! Sports |date=2008-06-12 |accessdate=2008-06-12] . UEFA has been monitoring the situation closely and Platini confirmed on June 26 that a decision would be made in September 2008. [ [http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/em/startseite/artikel/209746/ Michel Platini interview in "kicker sportmagazin", June 26, 2008 (in German)] ]

As of June, there were no plans to hold Euro 2012 outside of Poland and Ukraine, according to UEFA.cite news |url=http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5ivkXxPxo9lA3IIjlLq_3hUlBAovQ |title=No plans to hold Euro 2012 outside of Poland and Ukraine, UEFA says |publisher=The Canadian Press |date=2008-06-12 |accessdate=2008-06-12] However, Scotland has reportedly told UEFA it could step in and host the tournament. Scottish FA chief executive Gordon Smith told BBC Sport: "We have made it clear that we'd like to be considered if it's not going ahead in Ukraine and Poland.. Although Michel Platini has maintained there are no plans to hold Euro 2012 outside of Poland and Ukraine, Gordon Smith and the SFA remain optimistic stating, "I said was that we'd like to be considered if that situation arose. We haven't been told we are on standby or anything like that." “We will do everything possible so Poland and Ukraine can host Euro 2012. The only reason not to go ahead would be the absence of a stadium in Warsaw and Kiev,” said Platini.

In late September, the Polish government suspended the PZPN (the Polish FA) and assigned an administrator. UEFA promptly issued a letter to the Polish FA. Warsaw was warned it risked losing the right to co-host Euro 2012 alongside Ukraine. [cite news |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=577955&sec=europe&cc=5901 |title=FIFA hand Polish government FA ultimatum |publisher=ESPN via Reuters |date=2008-10-01 |accessdate=2008-10-02] Scotland has reiterated their interesting in holding the 2012 tournament, should it be stripped from Poland and Ukraine as a result of this situation. [cite news |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=577794&sec=europe&cc=5901 |title=Scotland ready to be saviours of Euro 2012 |publisher=ESPN |date=2008-10-01 |accessdate=2008-10-02]

Venues

;Infrastructure

Surkis added that the required logistics for a tournament that will take place in two time zones "gives us the impetus to build a new infrastructure and to come close to the European standard". UEFA EURO 2012™ will bring new stadiums to Gdansk and Warsaw in Poland and Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk in Ukraine, as well as ensuring the renovation of eight other grounds. "We deserve the right to build a new Ukraine and a new Poland," Surkis said. "Over the next five years we will build new countries - otherwise we won't have such a chance for another 30-40 years."

Poland

Host selection process

Bid history

The organization of the event was initially contested for by five bids representing seven countries: Croatia/Hungary (joint bid), Greece, Italy, Poland/Ukraine (joint bid), and Turkey.

On November 8, 2005, UEFA's Executive Committee whittled the candidates down to a short list of three: [cite web |url=http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind=4194304/newsid=364810.html |title=Trio in EURO 2012 running |first=Mark |last=Chaplin |date=2005-11-08 |publisher=UEFA |accessdate=2007-04-19]
* Italy (11 Committee member votes)
* flagicon|Hungary Croatia/Hungary (9 votes)
* flagicon|Ukraine Poland/Ukraine (7 votes)
* Turkey (6 votes, eliminated)
* Greece (2 votes, eliminated)

On May 31, 2006 all three bids completed the second phase of the process by submitting more detailed dossiers. In September 2006, UEFA conducted site visits to candidate countries. The hosts were chosen on April 18, 2007 in Cardiff, Wales. The results of the voting are:
* flagicon|Ukraine Poland/Ukraine (8 votes, winner)
* Italy (4 votes, eliminated)
* flagicon|Hungary Croatia/Hungary (0 votes, eliminated)

Voting procedure

The voting would have been made in a maximum of two rounds. For the vote to be valid, there had to be a quorum in the meeting room, i.e. at least eight Committee members, excluding the president and his deputy who did not have the right to vote. In the first round, each member had one vote. As the Poland/Ukraine bid received an absolute majority of 8 votes, it was announced the winner and the second round was not required.

The voting committee was composed of 14 members:

# Michel Platini (France) - President
# Şenes Erzik (Turkey)
# Geoff Thompson (England)
# Angel María Villar Llona (Spain)
# Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder (Germany)
# Marios N. Lefkaritis (Cyprus)
# Franco Carraro (Italy)
# Viacheslav Koloskov (Russia)
# Gilberto Madaíl (Portugal)
# Joseph Mifsud (Malta)
# Per Ravn Omdal (Norway)
# Mircea Sandu (Romania)
# Dr Mathieu Sprengers (Netherlands)
# Hryhoriy Surkis (Ukraine)

Surkis and Carraro were not entitled to vote in any of the ballots, as they represent candidate countries. ( [http://www.uefa.com/newsfiles/515171.pdf UEFA official voting rules] ) This left 12 votes available for the three competing bids.

Other candidates

Italy

Italy had already hosted the European Football Championship finals in 1968 and 1980, and also hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1934 and 1990.

The Italian bid appeared to be the most solid of the three due to Italy's generally excellent transportation infrastructure, the wide availability of lodging for visiting fans, and the Italian football association's past experience in organizing major tournaments. None of the other short-list candidates had ever hosted the finals of a major football tournament independently or as part of a joint bid, with the partial exception of Croatia. Also, the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin demonstrated the Italian ability to host a sporting event comparable to the Euro in magnitude. Italy's current status of World Cup holder was also thought to be a positive factor.

However, the recent scandal in Italy's first division and the football-related violence in Catania, which led to the death of police officer Filippo Raciti and revealed safety deficiencies in many stadia, have damaged the overall standing of Italian football. Yet the Italian government's resolve to assist football authorities in solving the problem – e.g., by introducing anti-hooliganism laws and allocating funds to immediate safety improvement measures in stadia – gave hope that it might partially mitigate the risk to Italy's Euro bid. Another minor risk was potential apathy of domestic fans after repeatedly re-using the same host nation, though 32 years would have elapsed since the last major tournament at home if Italy was selected to host Euro 2012.

The following venues were proposed by the Italian Football Federation:
* Bari, San Nicola Stadium
* Florence, Artemio Franchi Stadium
* Milan, Giuseppe Meazza "San Siro" Stadium (probable semifinal venue)
* Naples, a new stadium to be built in the north side of the city (probable semifinal venue)
* Palermo, another new ground to be built on the old velodrome site
* Rome, Stadio Olimpico (probable final venue)
* Turin, the new Juventus home soil, currently under construction over former Delle Alpi's site
* Udine, Friuli Stadium

There were four "reserve" venues:
* Bologna with its Renato Dall'Ara Stadium, or a new one planned in the nearby Medicina
* Cagliari, home of the Sant'Elia Stadium
* Genoa and its Luigi Ferraris "Marassi" Stadium or the new Sampdoria ground, planned in Sestri Ponente
* Verona, with its Marcantonio Bentegodi Stadium

Rumors appeared about two of these cities being added later (bringing the stadia to ten, as in 2004), with Bologna and Genoa the most probable "nominees".

The cities were basically the same as for "Italia 90" - and so were the stadia, with the exceptions of the Neapolitan (San Paolo) and Palermitan (La Favorita) venues, replaced by new facilities, and the Turinese Delle Alpi, under reconstruction. The remaining sites were to be improved and made safer, in order to reach the UEFA stadium rating required to host a game (only the Olimpico and San Siro; and San Nicola currently meet the criteria).

Croatia and Hungary

The following cities were proposed by the Hungarian Football Federation and the Croatian Football Federation:
* Croatia: Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek
* Hungary: Budapest, Székesfehérvár, Győr, Debrecen

Hungary was bidding for the third time consecutively after failing to win either the Euro 2004 or the Euro 2008 bid. It teamed up with Croatia after its previous partner, Austria, opted to associate with Switzerland to (successfully) bid to host Euro 2008.

Some elements of a successful bid were already in place, though gaps remained when compared to Italy. The two capital cities Budapest and Zagreb as well as the popular tourist destinations of Rijeka and Split already had decent transportation and lodging infrastructure. The favorable economic conditions of the two countries were likely to keep funds available to improve road, rail, or air networks and make the necessary infrastructure improvements in the other host cities. For instance, Croatia built more than 700 km of new highways and expressways in the last 10 years (including a new highway to the Hungarian border) despite the recent war, and further improvements between all host cities were planned by 2012.

Despite these recent improvements, however, the road and rail networks of the two candidate countries fell short of Italy's. In addition, several factors were hampering the bid. The lack of high-quality accommodations in some areas in Hungary and Croatia and the 2006 protests in Hungary and the protest of a group of Hungarian fans during the UEFA delegation's visit to Budapest (claiming that Hungary should focus on improving its own football instead of hosting Euro 2012). Another challenge for the bid was poor league attendance in Hungary and Croatia comparing to other bidders, among all nation Hungary had the lowest average attendance with approximately 2,354, which is almost four times lower than in Ukraine and almost nine times lower than in Italy. [ [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aEKu9BLjUEVs Italy Favored to Host European Soccer Tourney in 2012 (Update1)] ]

Neither of the two countries had ever hosted similar major tournaments, although Croatia's capital Zagreb did host one semifinal and the third-place match of Euro 1976 when the country was part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

If the Croatian/Hungarian bid had succeeded, Zagreb's Maksimir Stadium would have hosted the opening ceremony and the opening match – and Budapest's Ferenc Puskás Stadium would have been the venue for the final.

References

External links

* [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/euro2012/index.html Official website]
* [http://www2.e2012.org/en/2.html Official preparation website]