Krakow’s Mayor Holding on to Hope

After yesterday’s announcement that Krakow will not host any Euro 2012 games, one would imagine that Krakow Mayor Jacek Majchrowski is not in the best of spirits. However, in an interview in Gazeta Wyborcza that was published today, the Mayor’s tone is one of cautious hope.

“Michel Platini clearly thanked us for our cooperation when he read the list of Polish cities,” said Majchrowski. “But a moment later in Warsaw I heard that there is still a chance that Krakow could join the group of organising cities, if one of the Ukrainian cities fails to meet the deadline. I am not sure which information to believe.”

However, when asked about his initial reaction to the decision, the mayor said he was “dismayed”: “According to the latest reports by UEFA experts, Krakow received the best score amongst all of the cities trying for the event. For the past two years we were promised that the organising [cities] will be chosen from the best.”

Upon hearing the decision in Warsaw, Mayor Majchrowski found it “completely incomprehensible.” However, the mayor suspects that politics played a large role in the choice, saying that it was already decided two years ago: “I have no ill will towards the team which prepared this proposal, because I am still convinced that both the decision made two years ago, as well as yesterday’s, was a result of political pressure.”

When asked whether he thought the city did enough to fight for a spot as one of the organisers, Majchrowski replied: “I do not agree with the accusations made that we did not do enough to win this event. I mean, I was not going to personally go to Michel Platini to convince him to organise the Euro in Krakow and prove to him that we are a beautiful and well-prepared city. I thought that that’s exactly why UEFA travelled to all 12 cities, to see how the vision on paper compared to reality.

“Maybe it’s naive, what I’m about to say. I am convinced that our country looks the way it looks because of the way things are ‘fixed.’ Few people focus on sound work and healthy competition. That’s why we lost. Even though no one will deny that we were the best prepared city.”

See also: UEFA Announces Euro 2012 Host Cities

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