The Euro 2012 Championships will be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. The tournament is the last one to be 16 teams as the following one in 2016 will expand to 24 teams. Poland and Ukraine defeated Italy and Croatia/Hungary for the right to host the tournament.
The matches will basically be split 50/50 between the two hosts. Polish cities to have games will be Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw and Poznan. The Ukrainian venues will be Kiev, Lviv, Kharkiv and Donetsk.
The final will take place in Kiev which will also have a semi-final. This will be at the Olimpiysky National Sports Complex which after construction will be one of the premier stadiums and sporting complexes in the world. The new stadium in Warsaw is also under construction and promises to be a start of the art venue.
The draw for the tournament has already been conducted and qualifying matches will begin following the 2010 World Cup. Each of the nine group winners and the best runner-up will receive direct entry into the tournament. Following that the other eight runner-up will be drawn into two-legged playoffs.
From Group A you would think Germany and Turkey would be too strong with Austria and Belgium being the contenders.
Group B looks to be a three way race between Russia, Slovakia and Ireland.
In Group C it looks like it will be easy for Italy and Serbia. France is the favorite from Group D with Romania looking at the one to take second.
There is a northern European feel to Group E where it should be Netherlands and Sweden.
Croatia and Greece are the favorites in terms of Group F as are England and Switzerland for Group G.
From Group H it looks like Portugal and Denmark and finally from Group I it would appear to be Spain and the Czech Republic.
Qualifying ends in October 2011 by which time excitement and anticipation for the Euro 2012 tournament will be well and truly underway.