Poland and Ukraine are celebrating their victory for the right to host one of the world’s major sporting events – the 2012 European Championships.

Not many in Europe believed in these two countries - with Italy an obvious favourite of the bookmakers - but Poles and Ukrainians themselves maintained faith. Footballing authorities of both countries managed not only to reassure their own football fans of their chances of winning the bid, but did everything possible to make Uefa committee to believe in that conviction too.

With Italy wallowed in crowd troubles, riots and corruption scandals, Poland and Ukraine developed into the favourites, sending fellow challengers Hungary and Croatia’s bid into the shadows. The Uefa Executive Committee were finally persuaded to make their decision in favour of the Eastern European countries following an impressive presentation by Poland and Ukraine. The seriousness of both countries’ intentions was proved when Ukraine’s President Yuschenko and Poland’s President Kaczynski turned up at the presentation alongside with such sport celebrities as Andriy Shevchenko, Jerzy Dudek, Vitaliy Klichko and Serhiy Bubka.

It will take some time for Italy, Croatia and Hungary to recover from the shock of defeat. The problem of safety in and around Italian stadiums accumulated in recent years and reached its peak earlier this year when the policeman, Filippo Raciti, was killed in a clash with football fans. This shocking case prevented eight of the twelve Uefa executives voting for the 1990 World Cup hosts. Among the other factors that influenced the voters’ decision is the current policy of President Michel Platini – to offer Eastern European countries a chance to develop to a similar level as their affluent counterparts in Western Europe.

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