| G5 stands for tighter co-operation between cities and government |
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| Friday, 26 June 2009 07:21 |
 Marcin Herra, President of PL.2012, assured PAP [the Polish Press Agency] that the establishment of the G5 group composed of the host cities responsible for the organization of EURO 2012 Championship and representatives of the government is a form of tightening the co-operation rather than an attempt at discrediting UEFA’s competencies."The host cities together with the Minister of Sport and PL.2012 signed an agreement for tightening the co-operation. The organization of the tournament in Poland is financed by taxpayers and we want to optimize the costs. The agreement's purpose is to intensify the preparation process and was an independent decision taken by the presidents of the cities. We agreed that the details relating to each city will be agreed upon together during one meeting with UEFA instead of during four different meetings", Herra stated.
"On Monday I explained the purpose of the agreement to Martin Kallen. I said that we respect all previous contracts. UEFA is the tournament's owner but I stressed how important it is for the host cities to work together with a view to promoting Poland later on. We will take care to ensure that Poland benefits from the tournament not only in sport terms but also financially. It is a business approach to the project", the President of Pl.2012 added. The G5 members do not include the representatives of the Polish Football Association. Herra explained that the Association is a member of UEFA and is responsible for the completion of other tasks. "The government does not probe the contracts signed by UEFA with football federations ". Before the establishment of G5, PL.2012 made sure that the agreement complies with Polish or Swiss laws pursuant to which previous contracts had been signed. He stressed that the co-operation of the government with UEFA is still based on those agreements. "Poland signed contracts with UEFA for the provision of stadiums for the time of the tournament but they are not built for the championship only. This is why we and UEFA are trying to determine such tournament requirements that are in compliance with the requirements of future operators of those facilities. We aim at developing synergy between measures taken by UEFA that is focused on promoting the championship and measures taken by the host cities interested in promoting Poland. Everyone knows their responsibilities and functions. Preparations in Poland have been going well and we are ready to speed up", Herra assured. On Thursday Martin Kallen, UEFA's EURO 2012 Director, met with Mirosław Drzewiecki, the representatives of the host cities and PZPN. "At the meeting with UEFA we discussed how to maximally take advantage of 1,800 days that are left until the beginning of the event to succeed together. Discussions with the European headquarters have led to very specific issues: how to organize fan zones and secure the event, what the host cities should be decorated with, when to announce the tournament mascot, and so on", the President of PL.2012 explained. SOURCE/PHOTOGRAPH: PPA |