Polish fans boost Euro 2012 bid: FA chief

BARSINGHAUSEN, Germany, June 13: Polish fans' good behaviour so far at the World Cup has boosted the country's chances of hosting the 2012 European Championships, FA chief Michal Listkiewicz said today.

Around 35,000 Poles packed into Gelsenkirchen's Arena AufSchalke stadium for the Group A game against Ecuador on Friday, with thousands more camped outside to savour the match day atmosphere.

A 2-0 loss left coach Pawel Janas's team struggling to advance from Group A, but police reported no signs of the violence some German and British media had predicted from the travelling support.

''UEFA have said to us that they are taking into account what happens with the fans in the bidding for Euro 2012,'' Listkiewicz told Reuters. ''At least on that account we've come out with something from this game.'' ''The fans behaved fantastically in Gelsenkirchen. They showed that a European Championship in Poland would be a great event played out in a great atmosphere.'' The Poles are bidding together with Ukraine to be the first eastern European countries to host the finals since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989.

Their bid has made the last three along with Italy and a joint offer from Hungary and Croatia. UEFA is to pick a winner in early December.

In a game pinpointed as a possible flashpoint by police before the finals, the Poles play Germany in Dortmund tomorrow and must get at least a draw to keep alive their hopes of advancing to the second round.

REUTERS