What to do while in Ukraine

Former Olympic pole vaulting champion Sergei Bubka played down concern by soccer fans there won’t be enough hotel rooms during this summer’s European Championships in Ukraine and  Poland . “Huge progress was made in the last two years, when the new president and government came in,” Ukraine’s Bubka, who is a member of the organizing committee for the European Championships, said in a round table interview in  London  today. The country is hosting with Poland. London’s Daily Telegraph reported in December that England fans could face “a chronic shortage” of rooms. All of England’s group matches will be played in Ukraine. Dutch newswire ANP reported in January that the majority of Dutch fans would be flying in and out of Ukraine on the same day because there aren’t enough hotel rooms available. Dutch tour operators may also put some fans up in hotels in  Turkey , and fly them in and out for matches from there, ANP reported. “It will be sorted,” said Bubka, who is also president of the N

The new National Stadium Warsaw stands on the site of the former Tenth Anniversary Stadium and the development has revitalized the Praga district. Situated on the right bank of the Vistula, the stadium's red-and-white facade resembles a waving Polish flag and it will boast a capacity of 50,000 for the finals. National Stadium will host three Group A matches, including the tournament's opening game, one quarter-final and one semi-final. Construction work began in September 2008 and it will stage its first match - the Polish Super Cup between Legia Warsaw and Wisla Krakow - on 11 February. Poland's first game there will take place on 29 February. The stadium resembles a basket from a distance, an impression created by the external steel roof supports from which a 30 m spice is suspended over the center of the pitch. The renovated Warsaw Stadion railway station, meanwhile, will give fans easy access from the city center.

The first UEFA EURO 2012 broadcast partner workshop, staged in Warsaw, proved to be a great success as broadcast right holders received their first formal introduction to the services planned for next summer's final tournament. In total, 46 broadcast partners took part in the workshop, where they were by the CEO of UEFA Events SA, David Taylor; UEFA Events SA's marketing directing, Guy-Laurent Epstein; UEFA Events SA's operations director, Martin Kallen; and UEFA's communications director, Alexandre Fourtoy. The two-day workshop started on 21 June and offered UEFA its first opportunity to speak to a large group of broadcast partners. More than 120 participants heard presentations from all relevant UEFA divisions. "The broadcast partners are very happy with the current state of preparations and they trust us to deliver. We now need to live up to that trust and will not disappoint them," said Alexandre Fourtoy. "The broadcast partner family is extremely imp

While the kick-off next June remains the focus for fans across Poland and Ukraine, there was also time last autumn to reflect on past achievements as some of the co-hosts greatest players were honoured for the mark they have made on the international stage. In August, EUFA launched a new award to pay tribute to players from UEFA's 53 member associations who have made 100 or more appearances for their national team and Michal Zewlakow and Grzegorz Lato (Poland), alongside Oleh Blokhin, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and Andrei Shevchenko (Ukraine), were among the first centurions their commemorative cap and medal. Zewlakow only retired from international football after his record 102nd game for Poland in March and was thrilled to receive his award ahead of the national side's first match at the new Arena Gdansk- a 2-2 draw against Germany - on 6 September. "It is terrific to be honored by UEFA in such a special place before such a historic event," said the Legia Warsawa defende

While the greatest prize at stake at UEFA EURO 2012 is the Henri Delaunay Cup, the financial rewards on offer are also considerable. The total prize money up for grabs for the 16 finalists is 196m. euro, up from 184 m. euro at UEFA EURO 2008, with a potential 23.5 m. euros available for eventual champions, provided they win all three of their group matches. Each participating team will receive a minimum payment of 8 m. euro, on top of which there are performance bonuses in the group stage of 500,000 euro per draw and 1 m. euro for a win. There will also be 1 m. euro bonuses for the teams that finish third in their groups, which will give an incentive to those out of the running  for a quarter- final place on the final matchday. In the knockout stage, each quarter-finalist will earn 2 m. euro and each semi-finalist 3 m. euro. The runners-up in the final will collect an additional 4.5 m. euro and the UEFA EURO 2012 champions 7.5 m. euro. The tournament in Poland and Ukraine is expected

The 1992 finals in Sweden gave birth to one of the great myths of the European Championship. Legend has it that, when UEFA decided to replace war-torn Yugoslavia with the team that had finished behind them in the qualifying group, the Danes strolled into the dressing room, kicked off their flip-floops, threw down their beach towels and emptied bagfuls of suntan oil on the floor. As legendary goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel recalls:"We were between two training sessions having lunch when the message came through that we were officially in finals. So the idea that they had to phone us and get us back from our holidays on the beach is a myth." Popular perception, how ever, was determined not to let the truth get in the way of a good story - and it was a great story. The Danes tiptoed into the tournament and won it. Politics certainly had a influence. Apart from the Yugoslav situation, the Soviet fragmentation process meant that the former USSR competed under an unfamiliar CIS banne

AnimalWATCH reports the shocking facts concerning the UEFA Football Euro 2012 in the Ukraine:  In “preparation” of the Football Euro 2012 the host cities of Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv  have brutally killed (shot, poisoned or burned while still alive!!) more than 100,000 dogs  over the past year. Animal protection groups believe the number is far higher! Earlier this month the Kiev government announced the killings were to stop. However, Judith Pein, of the German branch of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) said it was still happening! “ It’s a slaughterhouse ,” said Asya Serpinska, head of the Ukrainian Association of Animal Protection Organizations. The Ukraine does not have any programs on reducing the numbers of stray animals.There are no programs to educate people about neutering their pets and there are no municipal shelter for stray animals! All this leads to thousands of animals appearing at the streets and the absence of home pets breeding control