Alive reflects EURO anticipation

With just one year to go before the start of UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, the latest edition of the official tournament newsletter Alive brings to life the preparations and atmosphere that are building as the championship draws ever nearer.

An interview with Ukrainian football great Oleh Blokhin – the new coach of Ukraine's national team – takes pride of place in issue 4. A scorer of 211 goals in 432 league games for FC Dynamo Kyiv, as well as 42 goals in 112 national-team outings, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winner in 1975 and 1986, and a former European Footballer of the Year, Blokhin is looking forward to the task of preparing his side for next summer.

Blokhin talks to Alive about the honour felt by Ukraine in co-hosting the event, the warmth and friendliness of the welcome that will await visitors to the country, and the hopes he has of lifting the European title – despite, by his reckoning, the challenge of at least ten other very strong contenders.

Alive also highlights the requests made for tickets to attend the 31 final-round matches: ticket sales for UEFA EURO 2012 closed at the end of March with a record 12,149,425 tickets being requested by fans from 206 countries – heralding a lottery to determine those who would be lucky enough to have tickets. The number of applications was 17% higher than for the 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland, and the number of applications for the opening game involving Poland on 8 June 2012 in Warsaw could have filled the stadium 30 times over.

A decision by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) means the ongoing experiment with two additional assistant referees will be undertaken at UEFA EURO 2012. Alive gives details of the experiment, which is designed to help referees in their decision-making. Building on the successful coverage in 2008, meanwhile, the host broadcasting team is stepping up preparations for what is planned to be a "full football experience". Alive reports that elements that were innovative three years ago are now standard as part of what will be enhanced coverage of the action.

From Poland comes an update on the finishing touches being applied to stadiums, airports and transport links across the country – with a special focus on one of Poland's four venues, Wroclaw, which will stage three Group A games, including one featuring the Polish national team. Infrastructure progress also continues apace in Ukraine, and Alive spotlights the diligent work in areas such as accommodation facilities and airport construction and renovation which will conclude in time for the 2012 showpiece. Residents in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in particular have seen their landscape change at breathtaking speed.

Finally, the 2012 championship will be notable for the unstinting efforts of thousands of volunteers who will make their own key contributions to the tournament by helping ensure everything passes without a hitch. Alive points out that volunteers are crucial because of their local knowledge and come away from these events enriched by the experience and, most likely, having learned new skills.

Add to this a look back at the EUROs of 1984 and 1988 – graced by brilliant French and Dutch teams respectively – and the latest Alive emerges as an essential read for those looking forward to the action and atmosphere in Poland and Ukraine.