Spain won the European Football Championship for the second consecutive year after defeating Italy, score 4-0, Sunday in the final at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev. The goals were scored by David Silva ’14, Jordi Alba ’41, Fernando Torres ’84 and Juan Mata ’88.
Euro 2012 organization has led Ukraine, the country that hosted with Poland the European Championship this year, to take out of the country’s treasury €10 billion. We talk about a country that made large investments in infrastructure, but there are fears that the revenue from the tournament will not offset the astronomical costs, worsened by corruption, according to analysts quoted by AFP.
Kiev hosted yesterday night, with fast, the European Football Championship final, where there many heads of state and government were expected, despite political boycott announced before the start of the tournament. Festivities marking the final began Saturday night with a free concert by Elton John and Queen, who performed in an area reserved for fans in the central square of Kiev, in order to attract attention to the AIDS epidemic in Ukraine. Ukraine is the most affected country by AIDS in Europe. Sunday, a short closing ceremony took place on the Olympic Stadium in Kiev before the Euro-2012 final.
Over 7,300 policemen were mobilized in Kiev and the Ukrainian security service announced that it blocked access to hooligans “susceptible of organizing riots and other challenges”. Many personalities were expected at the event, starting with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Prince Felipe, who had boycotted the previous two matches of Spain in Ukraine in protest at the situation of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
The head of Italian government, Mario Monti was expected, and President of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as well. European Union (EU) has been requested for several months the release of Yulia Timoshenko, sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of power and who complained of mistreatment. EU denounces a selective justice when it comes to Tymoshenko trial. In protest, several European governments, especially of France, Britain and Germany, refused to send representatives to their teams’ games in Ukraine. Head of the Belarusian state, Alexander Lukashenko, targeted by travel bans because of cracking down on dissent, was also present in Kiev.
Several Ukrainian NGOs defending human rights have called on this occasion the European officials, to pressure President Viktor Yanukovych to withdraw Lukashenko’s invitation.
Preparations for the European Championship final tournament were marked by problems – delays the work, exorbitant prices – but the three weeks of competition were held without incident in Ukraine. UEFA President Michel Platini, said yesterday in Kiev that Ukraine and Poland have organized “an exceptional tournament that will not be forgotten”. Ukrainian authorities, which expected up to 500,000 foreigners for the tournament considered this event as a final test. “We have to wait three days before we consider the bet won,” concluded Deputy Prime Minister Boris Kolesnikov.
The Spain team that won the European Championship is guaranteed a minimum prize of €20.5 million. The mere presence in this competition is rewarded with €8 million. For a group stage win, the bonus was one million euros, and the draw was rewarded with €500,000. Starting with this edition, the teams ranked 3rd in the group will get one million euros. A success in the quarters was worth €2 million, and €3 million in the semifinals. The winner of the final received €7.5 million, and the runner-up, in this case Italy, €4.5 million.
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