Euro 2012

Like most other European nations, Poland too, is football crazy. The Biało-czerwoni, that is the Red and Whites, may not be one of the heavyweights when it come to European football, but they boast of a fan following that is as loud and loyal as any fan following in the world of football. Many fans of the Polish football team still dwell on the glory days of the ‘70s and the ‘80s, when the Polish team made their mark on international football by making it to two World Cup semifinals in one decade, with the crowning glory being the Olympic Gold the national team won in 1972. The great Polish stalwarts – Kazimierz Deyna, Jan Tomaszewski, Grzegorz Lato – were icons of the game. Lato, now President of the Polish Football Association (PZPN), was the top scorer in the 1974 edition of the World Cup, where Poland finished third, with 7 goals. But this golden period of Polish football soon came to an end when the national team witnessed a dramatic slump after 1986, failing to qualify for any World Cup until 2002. The Polish fans weren’t going to lose faith, however. They stuck on with their national team, through a rough period that lasted for almost a decade and a half. But at the end of it, they were rewarded when the fortunes of the Polish national team started looking up in the early 2000s. While their football team is trying to work its way into the top teams of the world, Polish football fans received the biggest reward for their unwavering support when UEFA chose Poland to be the co-hosts, along with Ukraine, for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championships, the second largest football event in the world after the football World Cup.

Poland and Ukraine were chosen to co-host the 2012 edition of the Euro by UEFA’s executive committee in what was seen as a surprise decision as the two Slavic nations beat off strong bids from favourite Italy, as well as the joint bid from Croatia and Hungary. Needless to say, this announcement was followed by scenes of jubilation on the streets of Poland, as Polish football fans celebrated the prospect of hosting the football extravaganza. This will be first time any country from the former eastern bloc has hosted the tournament since Yugoslavia in 1976. The Polish team’s head coach, Dutchman Leo Beenhakker hit the nail on the head when he said, in reaction to this decision, "Eastern Europe has a great history in sport and in football and they still have great players but what they have been missing has been good infrastructure, stadiums and training facilities. Now the governments and the football federations are obliged to realise all their promises within the next five years and make these improvements. This is fundamental for football in Poland and Ukraine."

Euro 2012 is scheduled to be held between 8 June and I July. With less than 80 days to go for the tournament to kick-off, Poland is into the last stretch of organizational work, as the country prepares itself to host thousands of fans, tourists, officials and media persons from across the world. If there was ever an opportunity for Poland to show that it has left its communist past behind and emerged as a modern European power to be reckoned with – it is now. There have already been criticisms of Poland in the initial phase of preparation, but the organizers have managed to come up to speed by now. Whether the two Slavic nations can pull it off, remains to be seen. While football fans across the country get set for a month-long celebration, the Polish administration and government watch on warily. Either the gamble to host such a high-profile event will pay off and bring welcome investments that will help Poland tide over the European economic slowdown; or if Poland is not ready, the bold move could backfire completely.

For the Polish football fan however, none of this matters. All he knows is that his team automatically qualifies by virtue of being one of the hosts. Thus, this time around, there is a team to cheer for, and more importantly, there is a team worth cheering for. So come June, all eyes will be on the Euro 2012, as an entire nation holds its breath.