Initially, eight contenders submitted official bids – Azerbaijan, Greece, Italy, Russia, Romania, Turkey, as well as Hungary together with Croatia and Ukraine together with Poland. But during the time elapsed since the last day of accepting bids (January 31, 2005), three countries have already withdrawn their candidacies – Azerbaijan, Romania, and most recently Russia.
As for Azerbaijan, explanations, it seems to me, are unnecessary – everything is clear anyway. This country alone cannot handle such a large-scale event. Apparently, the bid was submitted to remind of the existence of such a state as Azerbaijan. It is very difficult to name another compelling reason that lies on the surface.
The second to drop out was Romania. The reason for this decision is the lack of financial support from the government. “The Romanian Football Federation sent a letter to UEFA in which it tried to explain the current situation,” commented federation representative Paul Zaharia. “The decision was made after the country’s government stated that football is not among the ten priority areas of development.”
And at the end of last week, just on the day when the presentation of the bid preparation program was taking place in Kyiv, information appeared that Russia had also dropped out. The new president of the Russian Football Union, Vitaly Mutko (the previous head of the RFU, Vyacheslav Koloskov, resigned, but retained the post of honorary president of this organization), announced that he was withdrawing the bid. The main argument, according to Mutko, is that at a time when Moscow is fighting for the right to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, an alternative bid to host the European football championship can only hinder. In addition, the Russian press quotes the new president, who stated that the very submission of the bid to host Euro-2012 was an ordinary publicity stunt (how can one not recall Azerbaijan here?).
Thus, returning to the presentation held in Kyiv, it should be noted that Ukraine and Poland have only four competitors. Ivan Fedorenko, Executive Director of the committee for organizing and holding the 2012 European Championship in Ukraine (his main position is First Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine), told journalists that his committee has developed a scale for assessing the infrastructure of Euro-2012 bidders. It takes into account all the most important components for the successful holding of a football championship – the presence of modern stadiums, training bases, airports, as well as comfortable hotels and convenient transport routes for moving tourists. Here one can also add the opportunity to rent apartments daily Kyiv and Lviv already provide such services), a favorable visa regime and other “little things” without which one cannot even dream of getting the right to host Euro-2012.
According to this scale, Italy is in first place, and by November 8, 2005 (it is on this day that the first round of voting will take place, in which the three main contenders will be determined), the joint bid of Ukraine and Poland should strengthen its position and take one of these very three places. Our main competitors, according to the calculations of Ivan Fedorenko and his subordinates, are Italy, Hungary, and Croatia. Why Italy – there is no need to say it again – it is a football country with well-developed infrastructure. Hungary and Croatia? From the outside, it is difficult to answer the question of why exactly these two countries, acting together, should worry us more than Greece and Turkey. Let us trust the specialists, who delved much deeper into the essence of the problem.
On our side, a corresponding decree of the country’s president, Viktor Yushchenko, who has already spoken in support of the project, calling it a matter of state importance, will be signed soon. And Ivan Fedorenko went into detail about all the measures that would help Ukraine host such a prestigious tournament in 2012.
First of all, all problems with stadiums should be solved. Today, among those wishing to host Euro-2012 in Ukraine are nine regions – Kyiv, Donetsk, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Sumy, and Crimea. Of these, the organizing committee must choose six, which will receive the right to host the matches of the European Championship.
Among all regions, Donetsk Oblast is closest to UEFA requirements. A super-modern five-star football stadium will soon be built in the capital of Donbas, although even now there are two arenas in the city that are suitable for international matches, as well as two excellent training bases – Shakhtar and Donetsk Metalurh. The airport will be reconstructed, hotels are being commissioned.
The construction of a brand-new stadium has started in Dnipropetrovsk, the country’s main arena – NSC Olimpiyskyi – is being reconstructed, and another Kyiv stadium – Dynamo – will be renovated. In Lviv, they are ready to either begin restoration of two existing stadiums or start construction of a new arena outside the city. A football stadium has been built in Sumy, and work is also underway in other regions interested in hosting Euro-2012.
In Poland, which has transferred the rights to represent the interests of both countries in this matter to Ukraine, two new stadiums will also be built – in Poznań and Kraków. The arenas in Warsaw and Gdańsk are being reconstructed. And the Minister for Family, Youth and Sports of Ukraine, Yuriy Pavlenko, summed up: “Today we have, perhaps, the most responsible stage – to get into the top three main contenders for hosting Euro-2012. So that after the first round of voting on November 8, Ukraine together with Poland continue to fight for the continental championship. I am confident that there are chances of success. And good ones.”
It should not be forgotten, however, that the joint bid of Ukraine and Poland to host Euro-2012 long raised doubts. This project received support at the governmental level back under Leonid Kuchma, while the Polish Football Union managed to prepare its part of the documentation only by January 31, when only hours remained before the UEFA deadline for accepting bids.
The Poles behaved indecisively, but in the end the union was formed. It is difficult to determine how convincingly it looks from the outside, but Ivan Fedorenko is full of confidence: "What can UEFA do for the development of football if the continental championship is held in Greece or Italy, countries with already established infrastructure? After all, the essence of the European Union's work is that the standard of living in all countries should be raised to the Western European level. If Ukraine and Poland become the hosts of the championship, the countries will receive a powerful economic impetus.
Ukraine and Poland are the heart of Europe, countries that are developing rapidly. Ukraine has drawn the attention of the entire world with the latest events in the political life of the country; we are already well known. We are a football nation that has raised three winners of the "Golden Ball". We are improving infrastructure regardless of whether Euro-2012 takes place in Ukraine or not. But we can speed up the process for the sake of a chance to hold a major football forum in our country. If you think about it, this is our only chance to host something serious in Ukraine in the next 20 years. Judge for yourselves: the Olympic Games are hardly within our power; that would require too many sports facilities. Take the football World Cups: 2006 – Germany, 2010 – Africa, and then representatives of other continents will be hosts in turn. When will Europe's turn come? It would be a long wait. So our chance is the European Championship. But if we miss Euro-2012, we will be able to bid only after two cycles. That means we must try.
Portugal, in terms of its level of development, is not so far removed from Ukraine. And yet, almost ten years ago, the Portuguese managed to convince UEFA that they were capable of hosting the European Championship. Naturally, UEFA provided assistance, but at the same time, the main football body of the continent received a net profit of 1.3 million euros, while Portugal earned 500 million euros net. In addition, it received ten super-modern stadiums for its use. Is that bad? Why are Ukraine and Poland any worse?
We have turned to Portugal's experience. A consortium has already been formed, which includes the Ministry for Family, Youth and Sports, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, the Football Federation of Ukraine, as well as companies well known in Europe: ProMarketing, KPMG (the author of the project with which Portugal won the tender to host Euro-2004), and "Becker & McKenzie" (a law firm with close contacts with UEFA). Work is underway on preparing a substantial bid book, in which all the requirements of UEFA that have already been sent to us will be taken into account. In the first round of voting on November 8, we must convince UEFA officials that we are capable of holding the European Championship to a high standard. And after that, until December 2006, when the host of Euro-2012 becomes known, commissions of the Union of European Football Associations will visit the remaining candidates to observe the progress of the work.