UEFA Euro 2012

The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2012, is the 14th European Championship fornational football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament is being hosted by Poland and Ukraine between 8 June and 1 July 2012. It is the first time that either nation has hosted the tournament. This bid was chosen by UEFA's Executive Committee in 2007.^[1]

The final tournament features 16 nations, the last European Championship to do so (from Euro 2016 onward, there will be 24 finalists). Qualification was contested by 51 nations between August 2010 and November 2011 to join the two host nations in the tournament. The winner of the tournament gains automatic entry to the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup hosted by Brazil.^[2]

The tournament is played across eight venues, four in each host country, five of which were newly built for the tournament. Aside from venues, the host nations have also invested heavily in improving infrastructure, such as railways and roads, at UEFA's request.

Neither Poland nor Ukraine, the two host countries, made it through the group stage. Thus Euro 2012 becomes the second European Championship so far (after UEFA Euro 2008 held in Austria and Switzerland) to have none of the hosts emerge from the first round, as well as the third big football tournament in a row to do so (after UEFA Euro 2008 and 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa).

UEFA Euro 2012

Mistrzostwa Europy w piłce nożnej 2012(Polish) Чемпіонат Європи з футболу 2012(Ukrainian)
UEFA Euro 2012 official logo
Tournament details
Host countries	Poland Ukraine
Dates	8 June – 1 July
Teams	16
Venue(s)	8 (in 8 host cities)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	24
Goals scored	60 (2.5 per match)
Attendance	1,068,505 (44,521 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Alan Dzagoev Mario Gómez Mario Mandžukić (3 goals each)

Tournament details

Match ball

Main article: Adidas Tango 12

The official match ball

The Adidas Tango 12 is the official match ball of UEFA Euro 2012.^[48] The ball is named after the original Adidas Tango family of footballs; however, the Tango 12 and its variations have a completely new design. Variations of the ball have been used in other contemporary competitions including theAfrica Cup of Nations and the Summer Olympics. It is designed to be easier to dribble and control than the reportedly unpredictable Adidas Jabulaniused at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[49]

Match officials

Main article: UEFA Euro 2012 match officials

UEFA named the twelve referees and four fourth officials for UEFA Euro 2012 on 20 December 2011.^[50][51] Each team is made up of five match officials from the same country: one main referee, two additional assistant referees who are also FIFA referees, and two FIFA assistant referees. In addition, a third assistant referee from each country has also been named, and he will remain on standby until the start of the tournament to take the place of a colleague if required.^[52] Continuing the trials carried out in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, the two additional assistant referees will be used on the goal line for the first time in the history of the UEFA European Championship with approval from the International Football Association Board.^[50]

Prize money

UEFA announced that a total of €196 million was offered to the 16 teams competing in this tournament, increasing from €184 million in the previous tournament. The distribution of the prize money is as follows:^[53]

• Prize for participating: €8 million

Extra payment based on the team's performance:

• Champions: €7.5 million
• Runner-up: €4.5 million
• Reaching the semi-finals: €3 million
• Reaching the quarter-finals: €2 million
• Finishing in third place in a group: €1 million
• Winning a group match: €1 million
• Drawing a group match: €0.5 million

Promotion

Trophy on display during its tour

Slavek & Slavko

Logo, slogan and theme songs

The competition slogan, Creating History Together (Polish: Razem tworzymy przyszłość, literally, "Together we are creating the future",Ukrainian: Творимо історію разом, Tvorymo istoriyu razom), was announced along with the logo.^[54] The official logo for the tournament was unveiled at a special event at Mykhailivska Square, Kiev, on 14 December 2009. Designed by Portuguese group Brandia Central.^[55] It takes its visual identity from Wycinanki or Vytynanky, traditional form of paper cutting practised in rural areas of Poland and Ukraine. The art form symbolises the nature of the rural areas of both countries.^[54][56] As part of the event, landmark buildings in the eight host cities were illuminated with the tournament logo.^[57]

The official Euro 2012 song is "Endless Summer" by the German singer Oceana.^[58] In addition, UEFA has retained the melody that was composed by Rollo Armstrong of Faithless on its behalf for the 2008 tournament.^[59] The Republic of Ireland has also produced an official song: "The Rocky Road to Poland" recorded by a collaboration of Irish performers has already reached number 1 in Ireland.^[60] In Spain, the broadcasting company Mediaset España commissioned the song "No hay 2 sin 3", performed by David Bisbal and Cali & El Dandee and produced by RedOne.^[61]

When the teams walk out from the stadium and before the national anthems are played, "Heart of Courage" by Two Steps From Hell is played.^{[citation needed]} The tournament has also been associated with the song "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes, which has been played in the stadiums after every goal.^[62]

Trophy tour

The Henri Delaunay Trophy began a journey through the host cities seven weeks before the start of the tournament. A hundred days before the first match a 35.5-metre-high (116 ft) hot air balloon in the shape of the trophy was flown in Nyon, Switzerland and will visit 14 cities throughout the host countries, reminding spectators of the impending tournament.^[63] On 20 April 2012 the trophy tour started and visited Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Poznań, Kraków, Katowice and Łódź cities. After the Polish cities, the trophy visited seven Ukrainian cities: Kiev, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Odesa.^[64][65]

Merchandise and mascots

UEFA signed a worldwide licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to help promote the tournament.^[66] The agreement involved licensing to third parties for: accessories, apparel, automotive accessories, baby personal care and accessories, bags, computer accessories, drinking vessels, footwear, general souvenirs, home textiles, houseware products and accessories, jewellery, publications, sports accessories, stationery and writing instruments, and toys and games.^[67]

Also designed by Warner Bros. are Slavek and Slavko, the official mascots of the UEFA Euro 2012. They are twins and represent Polish and Ukrainian footballers in national colours. The mascots were announced in December 2010.^[68] They are similar to the Trix and Flix from Euro 2008. As in 2008 the names Slavek and Slavko were also chosen in the web voting, over "Siemko and Strimko" and "Klemek and Ladko".^{[citation needed]}

^{~sumber ~}