The European Championship in Poland and Ukraine will be the 14th time that the competition has been held.
It was the brainchild of Henri Delaunay, the secretary of the French Football Federation, who first came up with the idea of a continental competition in 1927.
It is indeed very strange to hear that racism is still very pronounced in Poland and Ukraine and Europe's most prestigious football tournament is taking place in these countries. It is even more alarming that families of players featuring in the tournament are reported to be staying away from Euro 2012 for fear of racist attacks.
Surprisingly, Europes football governing body, UEFA, has acknowledged this problem and in a statement on its website, stated that: "UEFA Euro 2012 brings the spotlight on the host countries and clearly creates an opportunity to address and confront such societal issues. "UEFA's 'zero tolerance' approach to racism is still valid both on and off the pitch and ultimately the referee has the power to stop or abandon a match should racist incidents occur."
Awarding this tournament to these nations serves as an opportunity to tackle social challenges such as racism. This is a welcomed development for the image of the nations but also serves as a risk for fans of other nationalities who intend to travel to Poland and Ukraine to support their teams.
Racism in Poland and Ukraine among football fans includes Nazi salutes from the terraces, black players being taunted with monkey chants and rampant anti-Semitism. These appalling and disgraceful behaviour by sets of fans from these countries should be condemned and such fans should be identified and banned from attending games as their behaviour embarrasses their respectful countries.
However, with UEFA awarding this tournament to them it is a time for a rethink on their part and i do hope they would seize this opportunity. For the non-white fans that intend to travel to Poland and Ukraine, they should be extremely careful and courteous. It is the most prestigious tournament in Europe and the biggest stars would be on parade so they should be encouraged by that, and go there to see wonderful and exciting football. It's worth the risk.
By Chris Imaralu.
