ORGANISERS OF A proposed fans’ village for Irish football supporters travelling to Poland for Euro 2012 have been forced to abort their plan.
Since January Irish fans have signed up in their droves for the service.
A facility which would have offered cheap accommodation options in Poznan, where Ireland will play two of their Group C fixtures.
Today, those fans – many of whom have already sourced match tickets and flights – have been left requiring alternative arrangements if they want a bed for the night.
A statement mailed to all who registered on the site said that:
“A series of last minute technical and administrative difficulties in Poland has made it impossible for the project to go ahead.”
The associated post on the organisers’ Facebook page was followed by widespread anger from fans, disgruntled that their summer plan has effectively been shredded.
However, the statement was adamant that this decision was made with supporters in mind, so as not to take payment for a service which had no concrete foundation:
“We at all times have sought to put you the fans first and believe that it would be wrong to take bookings and money when we could not ensure that the IFV would be the success that you deserve.”
The timing of the announcement has exacerbated the problem for many in the green army as it comes days after the deadline for registration on some alternative fan villages.
Giovanni Trapattoni’s side will play Croatia and Italy in the Municipal Stadium in Poznan on 10 and 18 June, either side of a date with the world champions, Spain, in Gdansk.
Irish Fan Village organisers could not be reached for further comment today.
