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Hosts Of The 2012 European Football Championship Travel To Utah To Meet With Real Salt Lake

March 8, 2010 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SANDY, Utah (Monday, March 8, 2010) - Where do the hosts of Europe's largest sporting event - the European Football Championship - go to learn tips of the trade? Utah - host of the 2002 Winter Olympics and home of Real Salt Lake, MLS Cup 2009 Champions.

On 18 April 2007, Poland and Ukraine were selected to co-host the 2012 competition, a European sporting event with more viewers than the Super Bowl. They beat competition from Italy and a joint bid from Croatia and Hungary. It will be the first time either country has hosted a major tournament, a first for Post-Soviet Republics. The Polish-Ukrainian hosting is seen as a way of shifting the focus towards regions and nations of central and eastern Europe, whose population demonstrates passion for soccer.

The two countries continue to strive to meet the major challenges of improving their infrastructure, notably Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union until 1991, and is currently seeking membership in the European Union.

As part of a three-week program, delegates from Poland and Ukraine will travel to Utah as guests of the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program, administered locally by the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy. They will visit the state-of-the-art Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy and discuss sporting event management and public safety measures with Real Salt Lake's senior staff.

Representing Poland, the Provincial Marshal in the Lower Silesia Province will meet with Real Salt Lake's senior staff on Monday, March 8, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. to discuss stadium management and training.

Representing Ukraine, four International Visitors - Mr. Oleksandr BASKAKOV, Chief, Department for Operational Technical Measures, Ministry of Interior; Mr. Iurii GATSANIUK, Chief, Department of Citizen Security, Ministry of Internal Affairs; Mr. Dmytro SHAFRAN, Advisor, Headquarters of Anti-terrorism Center, Security Service of Ukraine; and Mr. Volodymyr STEPANENKO, Chief, Department for Operative Service, Ministry of Interior - will meet with Real Salt Lake and Rio Tinto Stadium's Trino Martinez, Director of Event Operations, on Monday, March 15, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m., to tour the Stadium and discuss security issues.

Martinez is entering his sixth season with Real Salt Lake, the last four as Director of Operations, and has served in a similar capacity for Rio Tinto Stadium since its opening in fall of 2008. Martinez has served in various consulting capacities at numerous international sporting events, including the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Champions Cup, the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi last December, and the recently-completed 2010 Vancouver Winter Games - his third stint at an Olympic Games.

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