Gdańsk: we are collecting signatures

Telekomunikacja Polska launches the campaign of collecting signatures in support for hosting the finals of the European Football Championships EURO 2012 by Poland and Ukraine. On 25th-27th August, the first campaign of collecting signatures is to be launched in Gdańsk. The collected signatures will be transmitted to UEFA as the proof of support from Poles to EURO 2012. At the same time, on 26th August the semi-final match of the XI edition of the national Marek Wielgus TP football Cup for children – Poland’s biggest football tournament for children - will be held at the Gdańsk Polonia stadium.

- The collection of signatures initiated by the partner to our bid - Telekomunikacja Polska – provides us with yet another powerful argument in our bid to host EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. I am convinced that the first semi-final match of XI TP Cup held under the patronage of Lennart Johansson, the President of UEFA, will contribute to popularization of the EURO 2012 idea. We can look forward to this grand football feats and expect many nice sport emotions. I wish to the finalists of TP Cup that as many of them as possible find way to our team playing at Polish and Ukrainian stadia during EURO 2012 – says Piotr Gawron, Director General of the Staff of EURO 2012 Project.

The campaign of support for EURO 2012 will be held during the semi-final matches of XI TP Cup. Almost 20 thousand children from around Poland are participating in this year’s tournament. Because of the Poland-Ukraine bid, TP made the decision to hold the four semi-finals of XI TP Cup in host cities applying to host EURO 2012 in the Poland-Urkaine bid – in Gdansk, Krakow, Warsaw and Wrocław.

The semi-final match in Gdańsk will be accompanied by sport and recreational events, with games and attractions for entire families. We will learn about the best teams of this year’s TP Cup, which will be awarded with 11-year-olds Polish Champion title, during the grand final on 16th-17th September in Warsaw.

The signatures of support for hosting EURO 2012 in Poland can be submitted for three days between 11.00 a.m. and 08.00 p.m. in a marked tent placed at the Old Town of Gdansk. The President of the City of Gdansk will be the first to put his signature.

The possibility to voice their support will be also provided to residents of other cities – candidates for hosting EURO 2012: Wrocław, Krakow, Chorzów, Poznań and Warsaw. The list of signatures will be transmitted to the Organizing Committee for EURO 2012.

Hosting of the finals of European Championships EURO 2012 has been strongly supported by TP from the very start. Collection of signatures is of great significance here because public support is one of the assessment criteria of candidates by UEFA. At present 85.4% of Ukrainians and 66.8% of Poles support the joint bid and the measures undertaken by TP are to increase the level of support among Poles even more. A decision on selection of the winning bid to host EURO 2012 is to be made by the end of 2006.

Telekomunikacja Polska as the General Sponsor of the Polish Team carried out several actions supporting Polish football. Signatures for EURO 2012 and support to TP Football Cup for Children are yet another example of TP’s commitment to this sport discipline. Over 20 thousand 11-year-olds, both girls and boys, participated in this year’s tournament. This is the biggest event of this kind in Poland.

24th August 2006