The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, more commonly known as Euro 2012, began on June 9, 2012. Poland and Ukraine are the hosting this year’s championship for the first time. The final tournament will feature 16 nations, which makes this championship the last one to do so, considering that the championship will feature 24 nations instead from Euro 2016 onward. This year’s defending champion is Spain, who a lot of soccer fans expect to successfully defend its cup, since Spain was the winner of both Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. The winner of the tournament will be automatically qualified to enter the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, hosted by Brazil.
The official slogan of the championship is “Creating History Together” The slogan is made to reflect the fact that Poland and Ukraine were once a single united country in the past and now, despite being two separate countries, have ambition to make this the best tournament in Euro history. The official logo, announced along with the slogan on Dec. 14, 2009 in Mykhailvska Square in Kiev, Ukraine, embodies Wycinanki or Vytynanky, a traditional form of paper art in rural areas of Poland and Ukraine. The ball in the middle symbolizes the Adidas Tango, the official match ball for Euro 2012, and the flowers on both sides are made from the colors of Poland and Ukraine’s national flags. Official mascots of the championship are Slavek and Slavko, twins representing Polish and Ukrainian soccer players in national colors.
In the draw for the final tournament, the groups were determined as following: Group A includes Russia, Greece, Poland and Czech Republic. Group B includes Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, and Portugal. Group C includes Spain, Italy, Ireland, and Croatia. Group D includes Ukraine, Sweden, France, and England. The top two teams of each group will proceed to the quarter-finals.
As it is the case for almost all world-class championships, nobody was quite sure of who is going to be the winner of Euro 2012. A poll done by the guardian showed that 34.4 percent of votes thought that Germany would be the winner, but Spain and Netherlands also gained a considerable support, with 16.9 percent and 15.2 percent of voters respectively. A poll from skysports.com showed a similar yet different result. Germany still got the most support, with 25.8percent, but England got the second most votes with 22 percent, and Netherlands received the third most votes, with 20.8%.
Now Euro 2012 only has its final round between Spain and Italy left. The Champion will be determined on July 1, 2012.
