Translated material
Ukraine in the Euro zone
Viktor Yushchenko brought home the European Football Championship
Another attempt by Ukraine to join Europe turned out to be successful. The political crisis did not prevent this country, together with Poland, from obtaining the right to host one of the most prestigious sporting competitions on the continent - the final part of the 2012 European Football Championship. Yesterday in Cardiff, in the presence of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, members of the executive committee of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), considering the Ukrainian-Polish, Croatian-Hungarian and Italian applications, made a choice in favor of the Slavs. The opening match of the championship will take place in Warsaw, and the final in Kyiv.For the first time such a major football tournament will be held in one of the CIS countries. However, this fact does not make the Russian Football Union too happy. Russia, which had already participated in the elections to host the 2008 European Championship and lost miserably, was going to try again in a few years and put in its bid for Euro 2016. Now that the 2012 continental football championship has been given to the countries of Eastern Europe, Russia's chances of hosting such a major football tournament in the foreseeable future are close to zero.
But never before has the UEFA executive committee been so limited in its choice. Each of the candidates raised serious doubts. No one, for example, doubted Italy’s ability to host the European Championship even tomorrow. The title of world champion, won last year in Germany, seemed to increase the chances of the Italians. The fact that the recently elected President of the European Football Union, Michel Platini, has Italian roots also spoke in their favor; in any case, one of the members of the UEFA executive committee, Vyacheslav Koloskov, admitted to a Vremya Novostey correspondent that he had no doubt who Monsieur Platini’s sympathies belonged to. But the corruption scandal that broke out a year ago in the Apennines, in which almost all the country's leading football clubs, as well as many major officials, were involved, negated many of the advantages of the Italian application. The recent murder of a policeman by football fans in Sicily has completely devalued it.
In the Croatian-Hungarian bid, Hungary turned out to be the weak link. Political instability in the country has significantly worsened the chances of these candidates. They were finally brought to naught by a small but sensational protest action by Hungarian fans: during the visit of the UEFA commission to Budapest, about three hundred fans took to the streets under the slogans “Hungarian stadiums are rotten, like all football” and declared that their country is not ready for the European Union. 2012.
Poland and Ukraine also had problems. Polish football is also mired in match-fixing scandals. And the next political confrontation in Ukraine slightly equalized the chances of all contenders, although all parties to the Ukrainian political crisis confirmed their interest in the European Championship, issuing the necessary guarantees. So on the eve of the elections, even Vyacheslav Koloskov, who, along with the other 11 members of the UEFA executive committee, was supposed to give his vote to one of the candidates, found it difficult to choose a favorite.
As a result, Ukraine and Poland were saved by the arrival in Cardiff of the presidents of these countries - Viktor Yushchenko and Lech Kaczynski.
“ With my friend and colleague, President of Poland Lech Kaczynski, we speak on behalf of more than 80 million Europeans. We have been faithfully pursuing this goal, and I am convinced that we will achieve it,” Mr. Yushchenko said, speaking to members of the UEFA executive committee on Tuesday. Several of these 80 million people made good company for Mr. Yushchenko in Wales - together with the president in Cardiff, Chelsea forward Andrei Shevchenko, multiple world record holder in pole vaulting, now head of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee Sergei Bubka, head coach, campaigned for Ukraine Ukrainian national team, Golden Ball winner Oleg Blokhin and boxer Vitali Klitschko. In addition, the application was secretly supported by FIFA President Sepp Blatter.
As a result, out of 12 members of the UEFA executive committee who took part in the elections, seven voted for Ukraine and Poland. Russian representative Vyacheslav Koloskov is among them. All of them were thanked by Grigory Surkis, President of the Football Federation of Ukraine and Vice-President of UEFA, who provided political support for this project in Ukraine and lobbied for it in European football circles. “It’s difficult for me to describe the feelings that I experience,” said the usually imperturbable Grigory Surkis. - Believe me, this long marathon of three years has left many scars on the hearts of those people who care about the fate of our two countries. We will justify that historical choice, that fantastic choice that UEFA President Michel Platini announced... 15 years ago, independent Ukraine was born. This was a chance to realize itself as an independent country. Now we have a new chance, this is a new challenge of fate, new sensations and emotions. I thank all those who gave their votes to Ukraine and Poland. Believe me, we will justify your trust."
Along with the trust and honorable right to become a co-organizer of the tournament, Ukraine received serious obligations to finance it. About half a million dollars have already been spent on advertising for Euro 2012 during the election campaign. The construction of the Football House in Kyiv cost another $17 million, which impressed even UEFA officials. But this amount is insignificant compared to the costs of the entire tournament.
The European Championship will cost Ukraine approximately $4 billion. Of this, the state budget will allocate only 1.2 billion hryvnia (approximately $240 million). Local budgets will find another $40 million. Budget funds will be used to reconstruct the Olimpiysky national sports complex, as well as to improve transport infrastructure. The remaining 20 billion hryvnia are planned to be raised from non-state sources, for which 400 government guarantees are given in the application book.
Such large expenses are due to the fact that in Ukraine there are currently no arenas capable of hosting matches of this level: within five years it is necessary to either build new ones or seriously reconstruct old ones. According to the application, the Euro 2012 games will be hosted by four Ukrainian cities - Kyiv, where after reconstruction the Olympic Stadium will be able to accommodate 75 thousand spectators, Donetsk, where a new stadium with 50 thousand seats will be opened in 2008, Dnepropetrovsk with a new stadium on 35,000, which is planned to be completed in September 2007, and Lviv, where the 40,000-seat arena needs serious reconstruction. In addition, there are plans to build another new stadium in Kyiv on the site of the hippodrome, and Odessa and Kharkov, which are in reserve, have long declared their readiness to build a stadium each - just in case.
By the way, there are no ready-made stadiums in Poland either. The national stadium with a capacity of 70 thousand in Warsaw should appear only in 2009, the Olympic Arena in Wroclaw will still be reconstructed, as well as the stadium in Chorzow. The Baltic Arena stadium in Gdansk is planned to be completed by 2010.
But in Ukraine they believe that they will not lose. Fans alone should bring $3.2 billion to the European Championship. And the Ukrainian side estimates the expected profit from hosting the European Championship at $7.4 billion. Plus, at least five ultra-modern football arenas, updated transport infrastructure, and a vibrant hotel business. And a sense of self-importance on the political map of Europe.