Euro 2012 – Ukraine’s wasted opportunity?
Euro 2012 – Ukraine’s wasted opportunity?

Author(s): Sławomir Matuszak, Tadeusz A. Olszański
Subject(s): Governance, Economic policy, Developing nations, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Sports Studies, Corruption - Transparency - Anti-Corruption
Published by: OSW Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia
Keywords: Euro 2012; Ukraine; corruption
Summary/Abstract: Ukraine saw hosting the European Football Championship as an important project in terms of image-building and modernisation from the very beginning. The country’s government assumed, during the presidency of Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych alike, that Euro 2012 would provide a major impulse for economic development and show that the young Ukrainian state was capable of successfully preparing one of the most important sport tournaments in the world. Although UEFA’s decision raised eyebrows both in the West and in Ukraine, after initial delays the work gained momentum and, shortly before the championship, Ukraine’s progress could be evaluated as being satisfactory at the least. As part of the preparations, four stadiums were built or modernised, four airports in the host cities were developed and 1,600 km of roads were repaired or built from the ground up. The investments have doubtlessly contributed to an improvement of the infrastructure in Ukraine, but it would be rather inaccurate to say that Euro 2012 has brought about a real modernisation of the country. The funds allocated for the preparations were relatively modest, and part of them was spent in a non-transparent way, which gives rise to suspicions of corruption.

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