EURO2012 UKRAINE

Euro2012 logo, which is beautiful: a football and two tulips in the colors of the flags of the two hosting nations. The symbol was unveiled in December 2009 in St. Michael's Square in downtown Kiev.

My soulmate cousin Kathy Curro asked me about sports in Ukraine. It’s pretty much all football, Kathy, soccer that is. But like everything else here, even sports is affected by the tragic economic recession, from which the government cannot seem to extricate the nation. The need for work is critical and so is the need for building infrastructure, roads, and communications, but for some reason these two needs can’t seem to match up. Why is it so hard to put them together?

The situation is critical for another reason: Euro 2012. The championship European football games are slated to take place in Poland and Ukraine, June 8 to July 1, 2012, the first major soccer tournament to be held in Eastern Europe.

The Euro championship is the 2nd largest football event after the World Cup, drawing as many as 1.2 million people from across the continent and over 150 million television viewers. In Ukraine, games are scheduled to be held in Donestk, Kharkiv, Lviv and Kyiv. These are great cities, and the games could be a real showcase for them.

The first game will be in Warsaw on 8 June and the last game is scheduled for Kyiv on 1 July. What a great opportunity for Kyiv, the capital, and other cities hosting or near the games, to attract tourists, resources, and publicity.

It might seem like a long way off, but preparing for these kinds of games takes lots of planning, money and resources. Stadiums, hotels, roads, airports, tourist amenities have to be built or updated; infrastructures in general improved and strengthened. This would include public transportation and metro systems. Getting millions of people to and from games can be a logistical nightmare if not properly planned and coordinated. As I understand it, some folks, among them the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the games sponsors, are worried that Ukraine is behind the eight ball in this effort.

Ukraine has started to build new stadiums in Lviv and Kyiv, but construction is behind schedule. With the economy in shambles and the country's budget drained, it will be a miracle if Ukraine can make it in two years time. It is trying. It is struggling.

Poland will be ready, and will benefit from the exposure the games bring. Will Ukraine be ready? Let's pray it is. And while we’re at it, let’s pray that Ukraine develops a good soccer team, too!