As the main pan-European football tournament administered by the UEFA, the UEFA European Football Championship is certainly one of the main events that any serious fan looks forward to. And now, with a mere hundred and twenty-eight days to go before the much-awaited UEFA EURO 2012, European soccer enthusiasts are surely anticipating the latest news and updates from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). This article compiled several recent news briefs to satisfy any hard-core European soccer fan.

UEFA EURO 2012 Tickets Now Available

Tickets for the upcoming UEFA EURO 2012 are now available from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) website, http://www.uefa.com. According to UEFA President Michel Platini, the 1.4million tickets will be sold partially based upon the nationality of the buyer.

Opening Ceremony for the UEFA EURO 2012 Held At Warsaw Stadium

The final venue for the UEFA EURO 2012, the National Stadium Warsaw, held a grandiose opening ceremony on the 29^th of January, with approximately 50,000 football fans in attendance. The event was marked by a free concert, games and an impressive fireworks display. The National Stadium, located in the Polish capital of Warsaw and refurbished in time for the 2012 EURO, can seat up to 50,000 people.

Training Venues of UEFA 2012 Teams Revealed

The sixteen finalists competing in the upcoming UEFA 2012 today identified their training locations and facilities, some of them brushing shoulders along the same regions. With Poland and Ukraine chosen as UEFA EURO 2012 co-hosts, it is unsurprising that a total of thirteen teams have chosen Poland as their training venue. The teams representing Poland, Croatia, Greece and Russia will be training in the capital city of Warsaw, while Denmark, Germany, the Republic of Ireland, and Spain have opted to train in the Polish city of Gdańsk. Meanwhile, Portugal chose Wielkopolska region’s capital city Poznań as a training venue. Ukraine and Sweden will both train in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, while the French team will stay in Donetsk.

Spending Cutbacks For Football Clubs

Due to the severe financial controls recently imposed by the UEFA, football clubs cut back on their spending, cutting as much as 175 million pounds from last January’s 225 million pounds. UEFA has recently ruled that clubs with consistent losses amounting to $58 million and above will be prohibited from participating in the 2014 Champions League. Financial analysts relate the decreased spending to the general wave of cautiousness and discretion that has swept Europe after the global financial crunch of 2011 that left the markets in a volatile state.