Poland’s Euro 2012 drive right on track
Jonathan FOWLER
While the clock ticks down to the Euro 2012 draw in Ukraine,
organisers in fellow host country Poland say they are ready for anything
as they wait to learn which qualified nations will play where.
“We’re really coming down to the very practical moment,” said Marcin
Herra, boss of PL.2012, the body supervising 300 interlinked projects
for the European Championships, from stadiums to hotels and road and
rail networks to airports.
Friday’s draw in the Ukrainian capital Kiev will end months of
speculation over who among the 16 qualified teams will play in which of
eight cities.
The hosts will be watching like hawks — and not only to see who their
on-pitch adversaries are, because match location is a top issue at the
quadrennial showcase.
Accommodation
Fan-magnets England, Ireland, Sweden, Germany and Holland all
qualified. A team’s support level impacts accommodation, transport and
security.
Besides Warsaw, Poland’s venues are Gdansk on the Baltic, Poznan in
the west, and Wroclaw in the southwest.
“I can’t wait until Friday, when all the question marks will be
answered,” said Rafal Kapler, head of Warsaw’s National Stadium, due to
open next month.
Poland know they kick off Euro 2012 in the capital on June 8, play
their second match there on June 12, and wrap up Group A on June 16 in
Wroclaw.
Ukraine will play on home turf in Group D.
The other given is that top seeds Holland and reigning champions
Spain will play either in Group C in Gdansk or Group B in Ukraine.
Scenario
“We’re working on the scenario that if we have Holland in Gdansk and
there’s a 50 percent chance then we’ll have more supporters coming by
car, bus and train,” said Herra.
“But if we have the second option, Spain, then we’ll have the demand
on the air side.” Planning has intensified for months.
“Three or four years ago we were talking about six months or a
quarter. Now we’re moving to operational readiness, talking about hours
or minutes.”
European football’s governing body UEFA caught pundits out in 2007 by
picking Poland and Ukraine over hosting favourites Italy and joint
bidders Hungary and Croatia.
It marks the first edition behind the former Iron Curtain.
Challenges
The communist era ended two decades ago, but Poland and to a greater
extent Ukraine faced challenges beyond those of Western hosts and have
been dogged by doubters.
“Criticism is part of the game,” said UEFA’s Euro watchdog Martin
Kallen.
He noted that Euro 2008 hosts Austria and Switzerland, Euro 2004’s
Portugal, and Germany and South Africa, which staged the 2006 and 2010
World Cups, faced pressure too.
The Polish state of preparation is good, he said. “It’s very close to
Portugal in terms of infrastructure and a little bit further behind
Switzerland and Austria. But it’s not critical.”
Operation
“The next six months is a full-on operation,” he added. “But I think
I’m quite calm.”
Herra said he relished the chance to show that “impossible is
possible”.
“Everything is planned. Everything has a timescale. We know the risks
and we’re managing the risks.”
“The stadiums are close to 100 percent ready. The airports, 90
percent. The overall transport infrastructure in the cities is 80-85
percent.”
Euro 2012 means more for Poland than hosting an estimated one million
fans over a three-week tournament.
Most projects are not directly sport-linked — under five percent of
funds are for stadiums — and are seen as crucial to the economy.
Investment
Poland’s Euro 2012-related investment tallies 90 billion zloty (20
billion euros, $26.5 billion).
Ninety percent is state funding, with around half of that in turn
from the European Union — 2004 entrant Poland can tap coffers that help
poorer members catch up.
“Euro 2012 is a great occasion. Firstly to improve our infrastructure
— not only stadiums but also roads, railways and hotels. And then to
improve our image on the international market,” said Katarzyna
Sobierajska, deputy sports and tourism minister.
WARSAW, Friday (AFP) |