Euro 2012

[P-N]

27-06-2008 17:04 Meeting with UEFA President Michel Platini to be held in Kyiv on July 3 at Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's proposal
Following the meeting, Mr Platini will present a report on Ukraine's preparedness for Euro 2012, which will be examined at a meeting of the UEFA executive committee in September.


This could be one of the shortest official meetings he will have that day -

Mr Platini:  "So how are things progressing Viktor?"

Viktor Yushchenko:  "Well we have talked about it now for over a year - soon we will make a start"

Mr Platini:  "Hmmmm - OK.  All the necessary funding is in place then?"

Viktor Yushchenko:  "Well Ukraine is prepared to finance 20% of the costs"

Mr Platini:  "Hmmmm - OK, but the rest of the funding needed has been identified and is in place by way of PFI schemes or similar?"

Viktor Yushchenko:  "Errrrmm - No but we are working on it......what is PFI?"

Mr Platini:  "So no real progress has been made since I was here last then has it"

Viktor Yushchenko:  "No"

Mr Platinni:  "This is very very poor indeed - we may have to use Scotland or Italy as an alernative"

Viktor Yushchenko:  "One minute - (dials Yulia on his mobile) - we are going to lose the UEFA 2012 tournament now sooka and it's your fault!"

Mr Platinni:  "Why is it her fault?"

Viktor Yushchenko:  "Because she is Prime Minister and I say it is"

Word leaks out and the Rada is again at a stand still as several members are Ukrainian football fans and block the speakers chair for another month or so!

Mr Platinni reaches for his phone with the speed dial numbers for the Italian FA and Scottish FA 


It is also rumoured that the RADA is subject to an official FIFA enquiry about it's members changing sides during the closed transfer window 

[Carlushika]

Nice one! Couldn't stop laughing!

[P-N]

Just goes to show - political b*llsh*t can still baffle brains  - see below link:

http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/index.php?id=148&listid=69714

All I can say to UEFA is that if something looks like bullsh*t, smells like bullsh*t and tastes like bullsh*t..................then it probably IS bullsh*t 

[rjm]

You are obviously aware of the expression "never a truer word said in jest"

A perfect example 

This whole 2012 thing is becoming farcical as many of us predicted,

Forget the stadium issues for a second and lets look at the infrastructure issues, almost nothing has happened in a year, I travelled by car by to Lvov 3 weeks ago and the road (the most important road between Poland and Ukr) has not improved atall since the last time I used it a year ago.

All this leaving stuff to the last minute mentality will not wash with UEFA and its obvious that UEFA have Ukraines card well and truly marked, the next 3 months will be interesting! 

[SteveH]

Poland plans contingency for 2012 
 
Poland and Ukraine were awarded the competition in April last year
Poland say they will step in and provide six of the eight venues for Euro 2012 if co-hosts Ukraine are not ready to help stage the tournament.

Ukraine have been given until September by Uefa president Michel Platini to prove they are capable of co-hosting Europe's showpiece football event.

Uefa have told Ukraine to speed up work on building stadiums and improve roads and transport infrastructure.

But Poland say they have a plan in place, if Ukraine continue to struggle.

"We are hoping Euro 2012 will be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine as planned, but the risk factor must be assessed and a contingency reserve prepared," Polish sports minister Miroslaw Drzewiecki told Polish news channel TVN24 on Saturday.

Our reserve is the fact that we are building not four but six stadiums

Polish sports minister - Miroslaw Drzewiecki
"Our reserve is the fact that we are building not four but six stadiums, so we can sleep peacefully no matter what happens."

Poland and Ukraine, who were awarded the competition in April last year, have admitted that preparations had fallen behind because of political instability in both countries.

Work has not started on the new stadium in the Polish capital Warsaw, while contractors have not yet been appointed for the major refurbishment of the Olympic Stadium in Kiev.

Eight venues are due to stage the matches - Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw and Gdansk in Poland and Kiev, Donetsk, Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine.

The two reserve stadiums in Poland are in Chorzow and Krakow, both in the south of the country.

Uefa will make its next announcement on the subject at a meeting on 23 September.

 

[SteveH]

Germany lined up by Uefa to replace Ukraine as Euro 2012 co-hosts        
Written by newsmaker

    http://www.ukrainians.ca/content/view/1106/1/lang,en/

Germany are being lined up to replace Ukraine as co-hosts for Euro 2012 amid fears inside Uefa that the East European country will not be ready to stage the event.

Inspectors from the European game's governing body, who visited the country two weeks ago, are putting together a report on the state of preparations which will go before their executive committee in September.

But Uefa are already making contingency plans to move the tournament from Ukraine because of concerns over the political situation, delays to stadium construction and worries over transport infrastructure.

It is understood that in the last week officials from Uefa have spoken to the German FA about playing a minor co-hosting role with Poland, whose preparations impressed inspectors. Berlin and Leipzig are possible venues.

Uefa sources admit the political situation in Ukraine, where presidential elections are due next year, have impacted on preparations which are behind schedule.

The situation is complicated by the involvement of controversial oligarchs in the Ukrainian Football Federation's (UFF) organising committee. The Daily Telegraph has learned that the president of the UFF, Grigory Surkis, was banned from visiting the United States in 2004 because of corruption allegations. He was denied entry under a United States presidential order that authorises immigration officials to withhold visas from foreigners suspected of "corruption...that has or had serious effects on US national interests", according to the American Embassy in Kiev.

Surkis was both a business and political associate of Viktor Medvedchuk, then head of the presidential administration. Surkis was also a deputy leader of the Social Democratic Party, headed by Medvechuk. The pair have been business partners since the early 1990s and founded the company that owns Dynamo Kiev.

An equally influential figure is the oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, a vice-president of the UFF who has partly financed one of the main arenas for Euro 2012, the Dnipropetrovsk Stadium.

Opposition groups regard Kolomisky as the most powerful and controversial oligarch in Ukraine and say he is protected at the highest level. Privately Uefa admit the involvement of these individuals is a concern.
 

[P-N]

Not suprising - regardless of the Oligarch issues quoted, there is no way Ukraine will be ready and there was never going to be a way they would be ready.   

Hats of to Poland (although not suprising as Ukraine should model many things on the way Poland has evolved) and Germany would be an obvious choice as co-host with Poland due to geography and inter-nation infrastructure.  Even every train crossing the boarder between Poland and Ukraine has to have its "wheels" reset for the differing guage of the track. 

[BritKyiv]

Why dont people think about Ukrainian culture?
Ukrainians do EVERYTHING at the last minute.
Remember the Eurovision song contest? Terry Wogan visited the site on the morning before the contest was due to start and he reported that it would have to be cancelled as it would never be ready in time. But true to form, it WAS made ready in time and it was a great success.
The Greeks did the same with the Olympics in 2004, they were still building the night before the opening event!!! (Similar culture to Ukrainians)

Ever been to ANY event organised Ukrainian style and its always a last minute job. Company Christmas parties organised day before, moving house - pack belongings on the same morning, opening a new shopping centre - pavement outside the entrance still being constructed the night before, the list is endless.

My dear wife (who is of course Ukrainain) employs the same tactics. Party - with many guests due to arrive at our place - where is she 30 minutes before they are due to arrive? in the super market of course still buying the stuff she is going to serve them. Back to the apartment and what does she decide to do 5 minutes before the guests arrive? - Change the curtains in the apartment, because they look dirty? and do you know what......................Guests arrive (late because they are Ukrainians) and EVERYTHING is ready and she has also had time to slip into the bathroom and get changed and reappear looking like a million dollars for the guests.

PAH... this is Ukraine.   We should respect their "modus operandi" and not expect them to do everything the same way as we would do it, or just the normal European way.

Give them a break.

[P-N]

You are correct regarding the MO of course and with the examples given which are accurate in almost every single case and every single circumstance.

Unfortunately for Ukraine, like many Expats who come here who want to change it to "their way, the EU way,  the international way etc etc. and get frustrated, exasperated or just give up", UEFA will be no different as of course the E in UEFA would dictate.

Ukraine will change it's culture and MO no more for UEFA than it will for the Expat between now and 2012.  It is therefore likely to lose it's co-host status.  It will take at least a decade, probably more before any significant comparability with the Eurozone.  These things took a decade or more in Poland and it had a firm resolve supported by almost the entire population and a far more consistant political structure.

It all relates to the political decision (again interfering with sport) to co-host it here in the first place with probably very little research done prior to this either politically, or regarding current infrastructure, or culture and not until after the announcement came the thought "ok let's see what they have got there". 

[P-N]

What am I saying - of course there was little research done - we were all, after the anouncement, then contacted via the forum by UEFA representatives to complete questionaires about the culture, infrastructure etc. etc. 

[rjm]

Ukraine was set clear guidelines after being given the opportunity to stage Euro 2012.

They have practically done nothing since and on that basis its only natural that UEFA are concerned and looking at other alternatives, they just about pulled it off with late planning for Eurovision but Euro 2012 is a far bigger and more important kettle of fish.

I dearly want to be priven wrong on this one but Euro 2012 is slipping away fast and its hard to see how Ukraine can salvage it before Septembers decision!

[Carlushika]

Early days, friends, early days!

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=556655&sec=europe&&cc=5739

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