billsportsmaps.com

June 2, 2012

UEFA Euro 2012, hosted by Poland and Ukraine – map of qualified national teams and venues / Plus a chart of the statistics of the nations involved (major tournament records, populations, and GDP data) / Plus photos of the host cities and venues.

Filed under: Poland,UEFA Euro 2012,Ukraine — admin @ 9:02 pm

Click on image below to see Euro 2012 map with all 16 teams

UEFA Euro 2012 map

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Click on image below to see Euro 2012 chart with all 16 teams’ data

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From Guardian.co.u/Football, ‘Euro 2012 team guides – Get the lowdown on the 16 teams, all the top players and every manager ahead of Euro 2012‘.

The following link I highly recommend checking out. From Dailymail.co.uk, from 2 December 2011, ‘Euro 2012 venue guide: The eight stadiums in Poland and Ukraine‘.

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Notes on nations’ data…
The GDP numbers and nation-rankings are from the CIA World Factbook, via this page at en.wikipedia.org, ‘List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita‘. Excerpt from that page’s intro…’GDP dollar estimates here are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations. Such calculations are prepared by various organizations, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. As estimates and assumptions have to be made, the results produced by different organizations for the same country tend to differ, sometimes substantially. PPP figures are estimates rather than hard facts, and should be used with caution.’

Population numbers and nation-rankings are from this list at en.wikipedia.org ‘List of countries by population‘. As paragraph 3 there says, ‘Figures used in this chart are based on the most recent estimate or projection by the national census authority where available and usually rounded off. Where national data is not available, figures are based on the 2010 estimate by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.’
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The UEFA Euro 2012 Tournament, hosted by Poland and Ukraine

Photos of the 8 host-cities in the illustrations below from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/ [note: there a lots of other photos of the cities in the 8 nice galleries at this link].

Warsaw –
National Stadium, Warsaw. Opened 2012. Capacity 58,145. 5 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group A matches, a Quarter-finals match, and a Semi-finals match.

Photo of Warsaw from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of National Stadium (Warsaw) by Vincent A. at flickr.com, here; and at the following, stadiumporn.com/national-stadium-warsaw-poland/.

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Gdańsk –
PGE Arena. Opened 2011. Capacity 43,615. 4 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group C matches, and a Quarter-final match.

Photo of Gdansk from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of PGE Arena Gdańsk by Piotr Krajewski at http://www.a-pk.pl/ and at flickr.com, here.

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Poznań -
City Stadium (Poznań). Opened 1980, last renovated in 2010. Capacity 41,609. 3 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group C matches.

Photo of Poznań from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of City Stadium (Poznań) from aerofoto-kaczmarczyk.com via imageshack.us.

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Wrocław -
Stadion Miejski (Wrocław). Opened 2011. Capacity 42,771. 3 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group A matches.

Photo of Wrocław from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of Stadion Miejski by Łukasz Czyżykowski at en.wikipedia.org/Stadion Wroclaw.

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Kyiv –
Olimpiysky National Sports Complex. Opened 1923, expanded in 1966, and 1978; last renovated in 2011. Capacity 70,050. 5 matches in Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group D matches, a Quarter-finals match, and the Final (on 1 July, 2012).

Photo of Kyiv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.Photo of Olimpiysky National Sports Complex from nsc-olimpiyskiy.com.ua.

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Donetsk -
Donbass Arena. Opened 2009. Capacity 52,598. 5 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group D matches, a Quarter-finals, and a Semi-finals match.

Photo of Donetsk from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of Donbass arena by Elparadiso19 at en.wikipedia.org/Donbass Arena.

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Kharkiv –
Metalist Stadium. Opened 1926, last renovated in 2009. Capacity 38,500. 3 matches in Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group B matches.

Photo of Kharkiv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of Metalist Stadium by Getty Images via uefa.com.

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Lviv -
Arena Lviv. Opened 2011. Capacity 34,915. 3 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group B matches.

Photo of Lviv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/. Photo of Arena Lviv from repetylo.org.ua via skyscrapercity.com/thread, Lviv Arena.

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘UEFA Euro 2012‘.

Base map of Europe from commons.wikimedia.org/File:BlankMap-Europe-v4.png .
Photos of jerseys from worldsoccershop.com . Photo of Poland jersey from primosoccerjerseys.com
Kit illustrarions from en.wikipedia.org

Thanks to primosoccerjerseys.com/poland-national-team-home-soccer-jersey-shirt-kit-2012-13/ for the photo of the Poland home 2012-13 jersey.

Thanks to worldsoccershop.com/shop-by-league-uefa-euro-2012 for the photo of the most of the jerseys on the map pages.

Thanks to tofocus.info for the flag of Ukraine, which has the correct shade of pale blue for the top band in the Ukrainian flag, unlike many other media sources, which have the top band of the Ukrainian flag royal blue instead of a very light blue.

Comments (8)

May 31, 2012

UEFA Euro 2012, Group D – England, France, Sweden, Ukraine – map of the 8 venues and the 16 teams in UEFA Euro 2012 / plus Group D schedule & venues, and statistics on the 4 nations in Group D & their teams’ all-time competitive records (in FIFA World Cup and in UEFA Euro tournaments).

Filed under: UEFA Euro 2012 — admin @ 8:01 pm

UEFA Euro 2012, Group D – England, France, Sweden, Ukraine: schedule, venues, and national team data

UEFA Euro 2012 Group D matches -

11 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Match 7 – France v. England, Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine.

11 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 8 – Ukraine v. Sweden, Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine.

15 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Match 16 – Ukraine v. France, Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine.
15 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 15 – Sweden v. England, Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine.

19 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 23 – England v. Ukraine, Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine.

19 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 24 – Sweden v. France, Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine.

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Group D venues (in Kyiv, Ukraine and in Donetsk, Ukraine) -

Photos of the host-cities in the illustrations below from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv [note: there are lots of other photos of the eight host cities in the tournament, in the 8 galleries at this link].

Kyiv –
Kyiv, Ukraine. Capital of Ukraine.
Founded 5th century (as a commercial center on the trade route from Scandanavia to Constantinople).
Kyiv city population 2,797,000; metro area population 3.6 million {2010 figures}.
Olimpiysky National Sports Complex. Opened 1923, expanded in 1966, and 1978; last renovated in 2011. Capacity 70,050. 5 matches in Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group D matches, a Quarter-finals match, and the Final (on 1 July, 2012).

Photo of Kyiv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of Olimpiysky National Sports Complex from nsc-olimpiyskiy.com.ua.

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Donetsk -
Donetsk, Ukraine.
Founded 1869 (by Welsh industrialist John Hughes, who constructed a steel plant and several coal mines).
Donetsk city population 979,000; metro area population 2.0 million {2011 figures}.
Donbass Arena. Opened 2009. Capacity 52,598. 5 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group D matches, a Quarter-finals, and a Semi-finals match.

Photo of Donetsk from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of Donbass arena by Elparadiso19 at en.wikipedia.org/Donbass Arena.
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Population numbers and nation’s-population-rankings are from this list at en.wikipedia.org ‘List of countries by population‘. As paragraph 2 there says, ‘Figures used in this chart are based on the most recent estimate or projection by the national census authority where available and usually rounded off. Where national data is not available, figures are based on the 2012 estimate by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.’

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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘UEFA Euro 2012‘.

Base map of Europe from commons.wikimedia.org/File:BlankMap-Europe-v4.png .

Photos of jerseys from worldsoccershop.com.
Thanks to worldsoccershop.com/shop-by-league-uefa-euro-2012 for the photos of the jerseys on the map page.
Map of overseas possessions of France by Manchot sanguinaire at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Outre-mer_eo.png .

Comments (1)

May 25, 2012

UEFA Euro 2012, Group C – Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Spain – map of the 8 venues and the 16 teams in UEFA Euro 2012 / plus Group C schedule & venues, and statistics on the 4 nations in Group C & their teams’ all-time competitive records (in FIFA World Cup and in UEFA Euro tournaments).

Filed under: UEFA Euro 2012 — admin @ 9:45 pm

UEFA Euro 2012, Group B – Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal: schedule, venues, and national team data

UEFA Euro 2012 Group C matches -

10 June 2012
18:00 UTC+2
Match 5 – Spain v. Italy, PGE Arena, Gdańsk, Poland.

10 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 6 – Ireland v. Croatia, Municipal Stadium, Poznań, Poland.

14 June 2012
18:00 UTC+2
Match 13 – Italy v. Croatia, Municipal Stadium, Poznań, Poland.

14 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 14 – Spain v. Ireland, PGE Arena, Gdańsk, Poland.

18 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 21 – Croatia v. Spain, PGE Arena, Gdańsk, Poland.

18 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 22 – Italy v. Ireland, Municipal Stadium, Poznań, Poland.

Group C venues (in Gdańsk, Poland and in Poznań, Poland) -

Photos of the host-cities in the illustrations below from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Gdansk [note: there are lots of other photos of the eight host cities in the tournament, in the 8 galleries at this link].

Gdańsk –
Gdańsk, Poland.
Founded 997 (when a stronghold was built there, which was connected with Baltic Sea trade routes).
Gdansk city population 455,000; metro area population 1.0 million {2009 figures}.
PGE Arena. Opened 2011. Capacity 43,615. 4 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group C matches, and a Quarter-final match (note: the Quarterfinal match to be played in Gdańsk does not involve Group C teams – it will be between the winner of Group B and the runner-up of Grouip A).

Photo of Gdansk from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of PGE Arena Gdańsk by Piotr Krajewski at http://www.a-pk.pl/ and at flickr.com, here.

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Poznań -
Poznan, Poland.
Founded 9th century (as stronghold; then from the 10th to 11th century, it was the capital of Weikopolska, or Old Poland).
Poznan city population 455,000; metro area population 1.0 million {2009 figures}.
City Stadium (Poznań). Opened 1980, last renovated in 2010. Capacity 41,609. 3 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group C matches.

Photo of Poznań from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of City Stadium (Poznań) from aerofoto-kaczmarczyk.com via imageshack.us.

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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘UEFA Euro 2012‘.

Base map of Europe from commons.wikimedia.org/File:BlankMap-Europe-v4.png .

Photos of jerseys from worldsoccershop.com.
Thanks to worldsoccershop.com/shop-by-league-uefa-euro-2012 for the photos of the jerseys on the map page.

Comments (2)

May 16, 2012

Brazil: 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A location map, with 2011 average attendances, and titles list / Plus a small chart of the reigning champions, SC Corinthians – crests and kits through the years (1910 to 2012) / Plus 2011 Corinthians scoring and assists leaders.

Filed under: Brazil — admin @ 8:04 pm

2012 Brasileiro map and titles list

The 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A is the 42nd season of Brazil’s Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. Reigning champions are São Paulo-based SC Corinthians Paulista. 2012 will be the ninth season that the 20-team Campeonato Brasileiro Série A is using the standard round-robin format of home-and-away-matches-versus-all-other-clubs (for a 38-game season), as well as a basic relegation format (with the bottom 4 finishers going down to Série B, while the top 4 finishers from Série B win promotion). The season starts on Saturday 19 May.

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A – Fixtures, Results, Table (soccerway.com).

But while the format of top flight Brazilian football has come in line with most of the professional football leagues throughout Europe and the rest of South America, their calendar has not. Starting their season in May really puts Brazilian clubs at a disadvantage. The reason Brazil’s national football league starts in mid-May is the continued existence of the outmoded state championships – an anachronism that is of a time when infrastructure and transportation in Brazil could not accommodate a nation-wide first division league, so the state championships were necessary, and served a role in Brazilian football. ‘Brazilian football state championships‘ (en.wikipedia.org). But since the early 1970s, there has been a national league, so state championships should have become redundant. Yet the poorly-attended and now pretty much pointless state championships persist. Why? Because of entrenched power interests in all of the 26 state football associations. If these now-irrelevant cup-format state championships were phased out, those old white guys in positions of power in every state football association in Brazil would lose their power, prestige and cushy jobs – they would lose their gravy train. And so, like parasites, the guys in power in the football associations in all the states in Brazil conspire to maintain the state championships. And so the state championships continue to take up a significant and pivotal portion of the calendar year (from January to mid-May), which thus sucks time and energy and media attention away from the important thing that all the millions of pro football fans in Brazil care about – the Brasileiro – and keeps Brazil out of the loop, literally. Due to the Brazilian league starting in May, as opposed to August, clubs’ transfer policies, budgets, and roster decisions are thrown out of whack. And Brazilian clubs still alive in the Copa Libertadores each year are also hampered by the domestic season’s opening in May, because they are forced to start the new season while concentrating on their Quarterfinals and Semifinals matches in the Copa Libertadores.

There are 4 Brazilian clubs still alive in the 2012 Copa Libertadores – Fluminense (who square off against Boca Juniors), Corinthians and Vasco da Gama (who face each other), and Cup-holders Santos (who play Vélez Sársfield).
‘2012 Copa Libertadores/ Quarterfinals‘ (en.wikipedia.org).

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Brazilian Pro Football titles chart

The map page has a different layout from previous maps I’ve done for Brazilian football. On this one, the emphasis is on the titles won by clubs.

At the far left of the map page there is a location-map of the 20 clubs in 2012 Brazilian first division. The center and right-hand side of the map page is taken up by a chart which lists the national, state, Copa do Brasil, and Copa Libertadores titles of 24 clubs. The clubs are listed by 2011 average attendance (from home league matches in either Série A or Série B).

Also listed in the chart, near the center, are consecutive seasons in the Brazilian top flight by club. [Note: there are 5 clubs in Brazil that have spent all 42 seasons in the Brazilian first division - Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Internacional, Santos, and São Paulo.].

The 4 newly-promoted clubs for 2012 are listed at the bottom of the chart. Those 4 newly-promoted clubs are – Náutico, Ponte Preta, Portuguesa, and Sport Recife.

The first note I should make is that the chart has 24 clubs in it because it also includes the 4 clubs relegated out of Série A after last season – América (Minas Gerais), Atlético Paranaense, Avaí, and Ceará. You can tell which clubs are the relegated clubs by their lack of bold-face text in the far left column [2011], and by their lack of inclusion in the green column at the far right [2012].

National titles listed are – Campeonato Brasileiro Série A titles (from 1971 to 2011), plus Taça Brasil titles (1959-68), plus Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa titles (1967–70) [see 3 paragraphs down].

On the chart, national titles are listed in the dark blue column at the center-right-hand side of the chart. Along the entire lower section of the map page are the crests of all clubs with national titles in Brazil, going from left to right in descending order.

I have included, among national titles won, the titles won from the generally accepted precursor to the modern Brazilian national championship competition, which was called the Taça Brasil. The Taça Brasil was founded in 1959 to enable Brazil to provide contenders for the newly-created Copa Libertadores, which had it’s inaugural season in 1960. Here is the Wikipedia page of Taça Brasil. The successor to the Taça Brasil was the Torneo Roberto Gomes Pedrosa (1967–70), which had originally been the Torneo Rio-São Paulo, for clubs only from Rio de Janeiro state and São Paulo state. In 1967, the tournament was opened to include clubs from Minas Gerais, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul states, and later also from Pernambuco and Bahia states. In 1969 and 1970, the winner and the runners-up in the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa went to the Copa Liberadores. Palmeiras won it in 1969, and Fluminense won it in 1970. In 1971, the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A was established, and the inaugural season was won by Clube Atlético Mineiro, a Belo Horizonte-based club that has never won the title again. Palmeiras won the Brazilian title in the second and third seasons of the Brasileiro (in 1972 and 1973). Vasco da Gama won the title in 1974, and SC Internacional won the Brasileiro in 1975 and 1976. To round out the first decade in Brazil’s national league, São Paulo won the title for the first time n 1977, current-second-division club Guaraní won the title in 1978, SC International were champions again in 1979, and Flamengo won it for the first time in 1980. As far as the all-time titles leader in Brazil goes, it depends on how you define the title. If you count Taça Brasil titles and Torneo Roberto Gomes Pedrosa titles (1959-1970) along with Campeonato Brasileiro Série A titles (1971-present), both Santos and Palmeiras have won the most Brazilian titles, with 8 titles (Santos won it last in 2004, and Palmeiras won it last in 1994). If you only count Campeonato Brasileiro Série A titles (from 1971 to present), Flamengo and São Paulo are tied with the most titles, with 6 titles each (Flamengo won it last in 2009, and São Paulo won it last in 2008).

‘List of Brazilian football championships‘ (en.wikipedia.org).

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SC Corinthias – 2011 Brazilian champions

Photo credits above -
Liédson, (Rodrigo Coca/ Fotoarena) at veja.abril.com.br.
Danilo, meutimao.com.br.
Willian, globoesporte.globo.com.
Alex [Paranà], Fernando Dantas/Gazeta Press via gazetaesportiva.net.
Tite, Rodrigo Coca/Fotoarena via veja.abril.com.br; Tite smiling, terra.com.br/esportes/infograficos/santos-x-corinthians .
Banner for Socrates, Reuters via dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2069960/Socrates-dead-Corinthians-win-Brazilian-title-fans-paty-tribute

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From Pitch Invasion.com, from April 9 2010, by Jeremy Rueter, ‘WHAT’S IN A NAME? – SPORT CLUB CORINTHIANS PAULISTA‘.

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, established 1910, São Paulo, Brazil.

SC Corinthians Paulista were named after the London, England-based Corinthian Football Club, which existed from 1882 to 1939, then had a merger to form Corinthian-Casuals FC (1939 to present). The resolutely amateur Corinthian FC toured Brazil in 1910, and a group of laborers in São Paulo were then inspired to form a football club. As opposed to most other established football clubs then in Brazil, SC Corinthians were to be open to all, not just the elite class of Brazilian society. Corinthians won their first São Paulo State title (Campeonato Paulista title) in their fifth season, in 1914 (see photo on chart below). Corinthians have won the most Campeonato Paulista titles, with 26 (last in 2009). Corinthians have won 5 Brazilian titles, their first in 1990, and their fifth in 2011. Their most prominent nickname is Timão (which translates as the Ship’s wheel). SC Corinthians are São Paulo’s most-supported club and have vast support throughout Brazil – Corinthians are generally regarded as the second-biggest club in Brazil, second only in support to the Rio de Janeiro giants Flamengo {see this poll from 2004 {‘Flamengo and Corinthians [lead the] survey of leading supporters in the country‘ (esporte.uol.com.br)}, and see this poll from 2008 {Ranking of the fans (globoesporte.globo.com)}. In 2011, Corinthians had the highest average attendance in Brazil (from home league matches), at 29,951 per game. They play at the São Paulo municipal stadium Pacaembu (aka Municipal Prefecture Stadium Paulo Machado de Carvalho), which has a 37,000 capacity. Corinthians share the stadium with local rival Palmeiras. Sometimes, when large turn-outs are expected, Corinthians play at local rival FC São Paolo’s Estádio do Morumbi (capacity, 67,000). New Corinthians Stadium, a new municipal stadium to be built for FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil, is planned to become the new home of Corinthians after 2014. {See this article from the Corinthians’ official site, with photos of the construction of the New Corinthians Stadium}. In recent years, some supporters of Brazil’s Corinthians make the journey to London, England to visit and support the still-amateur Corinthian-Casuals FC at their ground. Corinthian-Casuals FC are an 8th Level club in the Isthmian League Division One South. Corinthian-Casuals finished in 13th place in 2011-12, averaging 115 per game at their 2,700-capacity St. George’s Field in Tolworth, south-west London.

Click on image below for a small chart of Corinthians crests and kits through the years (1910 to 2012).

Image credits above –
Illustrations of old Corinthians kits (1910, 1920, 1955-51) by Lucas gc at en.wikipedia.org, ‘File:Evolução Uniforme Corinthians.png’.
Photo of 1914 SC Corinthians team from pt.wikipedia.org page on ‘Sport Club Corinthians Paulista‘.
Illustrations of old Corinthians kits (1951-54, ) by Bcav22 at pt.wikipedia.org, ‘Anexo:Evolução dos uniformes do Sport Club Corinthians Paulista‘.
Some of th old crests from seeklogo.com/tag.html?q=football.
2010/2011 Corinthians jerseys from football-shirts.co.uk/fans/corinthians-home-away-shirts-2011.
2010-11 kits from ‘Uniforms of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista‘ (pt.wikipedia.org).
2012 kits from ‘Sport Club Corinthians Paulista‘ (en.wikipedia.org).
2012 kit badge from soccerjerseysprostore.com/home-20112012-corinthians.
Photo of 2012 Corinthians 3rd jersey from football-marketing.com.

Here is an article about Corinthians’ crests and kits through the years, from globoesporte.globo.com, from August 2010, by Carlos Augusto Ferrari and Diego Ribeiro, ‘Do bege ao roxo, Timão conserva história com seu manto alvinegro [translated, 'Beige to purple, Timon keeps history with your mantle alvinegro']‘

Thanks to these sites for attendance figures, Worldfootball.net (Série A figures), Soccerway.com (Série B figures).
Thanks to Demis.nl/Web Map Server, for the base map of South America.

Comments (5)

May 10, 2012

UEFA Euro 2012, Group B – Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal – map of the 8 venues and the 16 teams in UEFA Euro 2012 / plus Group B schedule & venues, and statistics on the 4 nations in Group B & their teams’ all-time competitive records (in FIFA World Cup and in UEFA Euro tournaments).

Filed under: UEFA Euro 2012 — admin @ 7:16 am

UEFA Euro 2012, Group B – Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal: schedule, venues, and national team data

UEFA Euro 2012 (en.wikipedia.org).
UEFA Euro 2012 [official website) (uefa.com).

UEFA Euro 2012 Group B matches -

9 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Match 3 - Netherlands v. Denmark, Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv.

9 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 4 - Germany v. Portugal, Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine.

13 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Match 11 - Denmark v. Portugal, Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine.

13 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 12 - Netherlands v. Germany, Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv, Ukraine.

17 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 19 - Portugal v. Netherlands, Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv, Ukraine.

17 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 20 - Denmark v. Germany Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine.

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Group B venues (in Kharkiv, Ukraine and in Lviv, Ukraine) -

Photos of the host-cities in the illustrations below from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Lviv [note: there are lots of other photos of the eight host cities in the tournament, in the 8 galleries at this link].

Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Founded 1654.
Kharkiv city population 1,449,000; metro area population 1.7 million {2010 figures}.
Metalist Stadium. Opened 1926, last renovated in 2009. Capacity 38,500. 3 matches in UEFA Euro 2012 will be played here: 3 Group B matches.

Photo of Kharkiv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of Metalist Stadium by Getty Images via uefa.com.

Lviv, Ukraine.
Founded 1256 in Red Ruthernia (medieval name for Eastern Galicia or western Ukraine).
Lviv city population 760,000; metro area population 1.4 million {2010 figures}.
Arena Lviv. Opened 2011. Capacity 34,915. 3 matches in UEFA Euro 2012 will be played here: 3 Group B matches.

Photo of Lviv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of Arena Lviv from repetylo.org.ua via skyscrapercity.com/thread, Lviv Arena.
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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘UEFA Euro 2012‘.
Base map of Europe from commons.wikimedia.org/File:BlankMap-Europe-v4.png .
Photos of jerseys from worldsoccershop.com.
Kit illustrarions from the national teams’ pages at en.wikipedia.org, list of qualified teams here.
Thanks to worldsoccershop.com/shop-by-league-uefa-euro-2012 for the photo of the jerseys on the map page.

Comments (3)

May 1, 2012

Conference National, May 2011-12 – the 1 promoted club – Fleetwood Town FC – and the 4 play-off clubs / Plus a map of the 7 Lancashire-based Football League clubs in the 2012-13 season.

Filed under: 2011-12 English Football,Eng-5th level,England's Regions,Football Stadia — admin @ 8:39 pm

2011-12 Conference (aka Blue Square Premier League), Top of the Table map
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bbc.co.uk/Sport/Football//Non-League
Conference National Play Off fixtures.
2011-12 Conference National (aka Blue Square Bet Premier League) Play Offs
all times below are GMT (ie, Britain) / subtract 5 hours for Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Semi Finals,
First Leg,
York City v Mansfield Town 2nd May 2012. Kick Off 19:30.
Luton Town v Wrexham 3rd May 2012. Kick Off 19:30.
Second Leg,
Mansfield Town v York City 7th May 2012. Kick Off 14:00.
Wrexham v Luton 7th May 2012. Kick Off 16:30.
Play Off Promotion Final,
Sunday 20th May 2012- at Wembley Stadium – 3pm Kick Off.
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2011-12 Promotion / Play-offs Map. Promoted to the Football League: Fleetwood Town FC, with second promotion spot to play offs winner.

From Guardian.co.uk/Football League blog, from 10 April 2012, by Jacob Steinberg, ‘Long-term planning leaves Fleetwood Town on verge of promised land – A win over Wrexham will take Fleetwood into the Football League for the first time in their turbulent history‘.

On the 16 April 2012 broadcast of the BBC London Non-League {Season 5 Episode 37 podcast here}, Fleetwood Town chairman and local businessman Andy Pilley confirmed that the club has actually turned a small profit for the 2011-12 season [interview with Micky Mellon and Andy Pilley at ~16:00 into BBC Non-League Football Show Season 5 Episode 37 (Mon. 16 April 2012)].

This despite the fact that Fleetwood Town had the highest wage bill in the league, and drew just 2,264 per game to their home league matches (9th-highest in the league). So Crawley Town they are not – unlike last season’s Conference champions Crawley Town, Fleetwood Town does not have undisclosed ownership which has plowed far more money into a promotion campaign than any other club in the league could ever hope to invest. FTFC’s money comes from a local source. From the fleetwoodtown.com site, ‘Andy Pilley is…the founder and managing director of Business Energy Solutions (BES). He founded the company in 2002 from a spare bedroom following the deregulation of the energy market.’ And sure they spent to get promoted – FW Jamie Vardy cost six figures to buy from Conference North club FC Halifax Town. But Fleetwood Town have still managed to live within their means, and thanks to their great FA Cup run, and broadcast revenue from their Third Round match versus Blackpool, they even managed to make a profit. Congratulations to Fleetwood Town FC, its chairman Andy Pilley and the board, its manager Micky Mellon, it’s players, its supporters, and all the folks who pitch in at the Highbury Stadium up there on the Fylde in coastal Lancashire…the Cod Army will now take their deserved place in the 2012-13 Football League’s League Two.

Below is a little chart I put together that shows the recent league history and average attendances of Fleetwood Town in the past 8 seasons. In that space of time, Fleetwood Town have been promoted 5 times and have seen their average attendance increase from 206 per game to 2,264 per game – a jump from the 9th Level to the 4th Level and a numerical increase at the gate of over two thousand a game. Also shown is Fleetwood Town’s Highbury Stadium before and after the Parkside Stand was opened in April 2011…

Image and photo credits above – bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleetwood_Town_F.C.. fwpgroup.co.uk/projects.
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Below – Fleetwood Town, 2011-12 Conference National champions -
Seen below are Fleetwood Town’s manager, Micky Mellon and the team’s top 2 leading scorers from the 2011-12 season, Sheffield-born Jamie Vardy (age 24), and Liverpool-born Andy Mangan (age 25).

Photo credits above – Mickey Mellon, photo by Ian Hodgson at dailymail.co.uk .
Jamie Vardy, photo by Derick Thomas at fleetwoodtoday.co.uk.
Andy Mangan, photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.

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Map of the 7 Lancashire-based clubs in the Premier League/Football League

Fleetwood Town’s first-ever promotion to the Football League means there are now 7 clubs from Lancashire that are in the top 4 levels of English football (that is, of course, the Premier League (1st Level), Football League Championship (2nd Level), Football League One (3rd Level), and Football League Two (4th Level) -
Blackburn Rovers (Premier League or League Championship {TBD} for 2012-13),
Blackpool (League Championship for 2012-13,
Burnley (League Championship for 2012-13,
Preston North End (League One for 2012-13),
Accrington Stanley (League Two for 2012-13),
Fleetwood Town (League Two for 2012-13),
Morecambe (League Two for 2012-13).
Click on image below for map of 7 Lancashire-based clubs in the Football League/Premier League -

Photo credits above -
Morecambe, Tony Scholes at http:clarets-mad.co.uk/feature, league_two_[stadiums].
Fleetwood, fwpgroup.co.uk.
Blackpool, Terry Robinson at geograph.org via en.wikipedia.org’.
Preston, skyscrapercity.com/thread, PRESTON | Deepdale Redevelopment.
Blackburn, Blackburn Rovers/fussballtempel.net
Accrington, bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.
Burnley, Simon Kirwan at lightboxuk.photoshelter.com.

Photo credits on the map page –
Fleetwood Town/Highbury Stadium – placenorthwest.co.uk. fleetwoodtownfc.com. fwpgroup.co.uk.

Wrexham/Racecourse Ground – redpassion.co.uk

Mansfield Town/Field Mill – findaproperty.com. 100groundsclub.blogspot.com/2010/02/field-mill. bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.

York City/Bootham Crescent – bluesqfootball.com. campdavemorecambe at flickr.com. cqout.com/shop/Footy Postcards.

Luton Town/Kenilworth Road – SoccerWord.com. Stadiums.Football.co.uk. lutontoday.co.uk/’Grand designs for Kenilworth Road’. bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2011–12 Football Conference‘.
Thankls to soccerway.com, for attendance figures.
Attendance data from 2005-06 to 2008-09 from: http://www.tonykempster.co.uk/gridsindex.htm.
Thanks to fleetwoodtown-mad.co.uk at League History for Fleetwood Town league history.
Thanks to FWP Group fgor the aerial photo of Highbury Stadium, http://www.fwpgroup.co.uk/projects/default_item.php?id=101.

Comments (4)

April 30, 2012

England, Non-League Football/6th Level, 2011-12 – Conference South: the 1 promoted club – Woking FC – and the 4 play-off clubs.

Filed under: 2011-12 English Football,Eng-6th level — admin @ 7:29 am

2011-12 Conference South, Top of the Table

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Conference South (aka Blue Square South) site, bluesqsouth.com.
From bluesqsouth.com, from 28 April 2012, ‘Saturday’s Blue Square Bet South Wrap – Chelmsford missed out on the play-offs with a 3-2 defeat to champions Woking on Saturday, while Maidenhead were relegated despite claiming a three-point haul‘.

Conference South and Conference South play-offs begin Wednesday 2 May, 2012 – footballconference.co.uk/play-offs fixtures.
Conference South Play Offs:
Dartford FC v. Basingstoke Town FC.
Welling United FC v. Sutton United FC.

Semi Finals,
First Leg – 2nd May 2012
Sutton United v Welling United. Kick Off 19:45
Basingstoke Town v Dartford. Kick Off 19:45

Second Leg – 6th May 2012
Welling United v Sutton United. Kick Off 15:00
Dartford v Basingstoke Town. Kick Off 1500

Play Off Promotion Final,
Sunday 13th May 2012 at the the highest placed Club.

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The map page shows the top 5 finishers in the 2011-12 Conference South – the one automatically promoted club (Woking FC) and the four play off clubs (Dartford FC, Welling United FC, Sutton United FC, and Basingstoke Town FC). Photos of each club’s ground are shown at the far left, next to each club’s profile box. The profile box includes the basic club info plus highest league placement by the club, 2011-12 kits, and 2011-12 home kit badge. At the center of the map page is a location-map of the 5 clubs. At the upper right is attendance data (from home league matches) from the last 2 seasons for the 5 clubs (2011-12 average attendance, 2010-11 average attendance, and numerical change from 11/12 gates versus 10/11 gates).

After 3 seasons in the Conference South, Woking FC won promotion back to the Conference National, on 14 April 2012, with a 1-0 victory at Maidenhead United. 7 days later, in their next home match, in front of a crowd of 4,064 at the Kingfield Stadium, Woking and their supporters celebrated their 2011-12 Blue Square South title (see link to video below).

From getsurrey.co.uk, ‘VIDEO: Party time for Woking FC’s title triumph‘.

In the photo below, Woking teammates congratulate forward Giuseppe ‘Gez’ Sole, after scoring (on 21 April 2012). Sole is a 24-year-old former Woking youth academy player, who went on to lead Woking FC in scoring in 2007-08 (as a 19/20-year old) with 14 league goals [in the Conference], and then led Woking in scoring again in 2009-10 [in the Conference South]. Sole had loan spells at Newport County and Dorchester Town, before signing with Conference South side Havant and Waterlooville in 2010. Sole was brought back to Woking in the summer of 2011 by recently-hired manager Garry Hill. Gez Sole started the 2011-12 season out on loan to Basingstoke Town, and after coming back to Woking in January 2012, scored 19 goals in 20 league games, and set a club recored with goals scored in 9 strraight games.

Photo credit above – David Holmes at wokingfc.co.uk.

Woking FC are from Woking, Surrey, which is 37 km. (23 miles) SW of London, and has a population of around 62,000 {2010 figure}. Woking, nicknamed the Cards (or Cardinals), have a 17-season history in the 5th Level/Conference National (from 1992-93 to 2008-09). Around fifteen years ago Woking had a big push for promotion that fell short – Woking finished in 2nd place for two consecutive seasons (1994-95 and 1995-96), back in the era when there was only one promotion-spot in the Conference (the 2nd promotion-spot, via the 4-team play-offs, was instituted for the Conference in 2002-03). In 1994-95, Woking finished 5 points behind Macclesfield Town. And in 1995-96, Woking finished 8 points behind Stevenage Borough (but Stevenage Borough were denied a promotion to the Football League because they did not meet Football League ground requirements, so nobody went up to the Football League that season).

Woking were relegated from the Conference National following the 2008-09 season, after finishing in 21st place. The next season, their first in the Conference South, Woking saw their gates dwindle from 1.7K to 1.3 K, and finished in 5th, then lost in the play offs final to Bath City in May 2010. Midway through the next season [2010-11], manager Gaham Baker was sacked after claiming the fans were expecting too much of the team. In January, 2011, former Rushden & Diamonds manager Gary Hill stepped in. For 2010-11, the Cards saw their attendance fall again, to 1,167 per game, and again they finished in 5th, and again they lost in the play offs, this time to Farnborough in the 1st round.

Now in Hill’s first full season with the club, he has ably guided Woking to a successful promotion campaign.

Woking’s Kingfield Stadium is unusual in that one of the goal-end stands – the Leslie Gosden Stand – is a modern roofed stand that completely towers over the other stands. So three quarters of the ground look definitely like a Non-League ground, while the Leslie Gosden Stand would not look out of place in League One. Woking draw very decent-sized crowds for a club with no League history. In their last season in the Conference National, in 2008-09, they had the 9th-best attendance in the 5th Level at 1,727 per game. This season, the Cards’ for-real-this-time promotion-run drew back many disaffected fans there in west Surrey, and the club pulled an average of 1,833 per game through the turnstiles. This figure was best in both Conference South and in Conference North by a considerable margin of over 400 per game (the second highest drawing club in the 6th Level in 2011-12 were FC Halifax Town at 1,422 per game).

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Photo credits for the map page -
Woking/Kingfield Stadium – Salmonboy at panoramio.com.

Dartford/Princes Park – bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view. alexandersedgley.co.uk. groundtastic.co.uk/Ground Awards 2007.

Welling United/Park View Road – bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.footygrounds.blogspot.com/2011/06/welling-united-park-view-road. StephenHarris at panoramio.com.

Sutton United/Borough Sports Ground, Gander Green Lane – bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view. Chris Hayes Photography at flickr.com.

Basingstoke Town/The Camrose – bromleyfc.tv. dubsteps.blogspot.com/2009/04/basingstoke-town-2-havant-waterlooville.
_

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2011–12 Football Conference‘.

Thanks to soccerway.com, for Conference South attendances.
Thanks to mikeavery.co.uk, for 2010-11 Sutton United attendance (in Isthmian League, here).

Thanks to David Holmes at wokingfc.co.uk for the photo from 21 April.
Thanks to Salmonboy at panoramio.com for the nice panorama image of Kingfield Stadium, http://www.panoramio.com/photo/33893030.

Comments (2)

April 28, 2012

England, Non-League Football/6th Level, 2011-12 – Conference North: the 1 promoted club – Hyde FC – and the 4 play off clubs.

Filed under: 2011-12 English Football,Eng-6th level — admin @ 12:23 pm

2011-12 Conference North, Top of the Table map

Conference North (aka Blue Square Bet North) site bluesqnorth.com.
From bluesqnorth.com, from 28 April 2012, ‘Saturday’s Blue Square Bet North Wrap – Nuneaton Town grabbed the final play-off spot while Hinckley United’s relegation was confirmed after the final round of Blue Square Bet North fixtures‘.

Conference North and Conference South play offs begin 2 May 2012 – footballconference.co.uk/play-offs fixtures.
Conference North Play Offs:
2nd place, Guiseley AFC v. 5th place, Nuneaton Town FC.
3rd place, FC Halifax Town v. 4th place, Gainsborough Trinity FC.
Semi-Finals,
First Leg – 2nd May 2012
Gainsborough Trinity v FC Halifax Town
Nuneaton Town v Guiseley

Second Leg – 6th May 2012
FC Halifax Town v Gainsborough Trinity
Guiseley v Nuneaton Town

Conference North Play Off Promotion Final,
Final – Sunday 13th May 2012 at the the highest placed Club.

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Conference South (aka Blue Square Bet South) site, bluesqsouth.com.
Conference South Play Offs:
2nd place, Dartford FC v. 5th place, Basingstoke Town FC.
3rd place, Welling United FC v. 4th place, Sutton United FC.

Semi Finals,
First Leg – 2nd May 2012
Sutton United v Welling United
Basingstoke Town v Dartford

Second Leg – 6th May 2012
Welling United v Sutton United
Dartford v Basingstoke Town

Conference South Play Off Promotion Final,
Sunday 13th May 2012 at the the highest placed Club.

[ Note: post of 2011-12 Conference South/Top of the Table map incl. champions Woking FC will be posted on Monday 30 April at 12:30 pm GMT/7:30 am ET.]

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The map page shows the top 5 finishers in the 2011-12 Conference North – the one automatically promoted club (Hyde FC) and the four play off clubs (Guiseley AFC, FC Halifax Town, Gainsborough Trinity FC, and Nuneaton Town FC). Photos of each club’s ground are shown at the far left, next to each club’s profile box. The profile box includes the basic club info plus highest league placement by the club, 2011-12 kits, and 2011-12 home kit badge. At the center of the map page is a location-map of the 5 clubs. At the upper right is attendance data (from home league matches) from the last 2 seasons for the 5 clubs (2011-12 average attendance, 2010-11 average attendance, and numerical change from 11/12 gates versus 10/11 gates).

Champions and the sole automatic promotion winner are Hyde FC, nicknamed the Tigers, who are from Hyde, which is in the eastern end of Greater Manchester, 11 km. (7 miles) east of Manchester city center. This is the second season (of a current 3-season agreement) in which Hyde FC have had a sponsorship deal with nearby Premier League club Manchester City, and the blue half of Manchester’s financial support of Hyde has done the trick, helping Hyde win their first-ever promotion to the 5th Level and the Conference National, one year after escaping relegation on the last day (of the 2010-11 season). The turn-around is especially striking, as Hyde have now gone from near-liquidation (circa 2009) to promotion in the space of three years.

Manchester City FC now uses Hyde FC’s Ewen Fields ground as the home of their reserves team. There were some raised eyebrows when Man City got Hyde to expunge all the red-half-of-Manchester references. So out went the red-painted stands of Ewen Fields (they are dark blue now), out went the red in the club badge and the kit of Hyde FC (for 2010-11 only, though, as Hyde are back in red now, but the badge still has sky blue, and not red, in it), and out went the name ‘Hyde United’. A big part of why it rankled many is that the club pretended that their sponsorship deal with Manchester City had nothing to do with the elimination of red, or ‘United’, from Hyde’s name and colors {see this article from twohundredpercent.net, by Ian King, from 17 July 2010, specifically the 3rd paragraph, ‘Manchester City Prepare To Turn Hyde Blue‘}.

In the summer of 2011, Hyde appointed Gary Lowe to lead the Tigers for 2011-12. Lowe spent 11 years as manager of western-Greater-Manchester-based Northern Premier League club Curzon Ashton [a 7th Level club].

On Saturday, 21 April, in front of a crowd of 1,036 at Ewen Fields, Hyde FC clinched promotion to the Conference National with a 4-1 win over Boston United. From thehydetiger.blogspot.com, by Paul Prole, ‘Champions!‘.

Hyde FC drew 7th-best in Conference North in 2011-12, at 645 per game, up an impressive +298 per game compared to 2010-11. And while that 645 per game is pretty low for a club going up to the 5th Level, with their working agreement with City, Hyde FC should probably be OK for survival in the 2012-13 Conference National.

Below, second-highest scorer in the league, Hyde FC forward Scott Spencer, who netted 32 goals in 33 league games for Hyde this season. The Oldham, Greater Manchester-born Spencer is 23 years old, and an England-C international, and among his travels he scored 4 goals in 17 games for League Two’s Southend United in 2010. Spencer is seen below in action from 8 October 2011, in a 1-1 draw at Ewen Fields versus Nuneaton Town.

Photo credit above – Media Image Ltd. via eyeofthehydetiger.wordpress.com.
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Photo and Image credits on map page –
Hyde FC/Ewen Fields, bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.
tiny.url.com via http://www.twohundredpercent.net.
northernfootball.blogspot.com/2011/10/hyde-fc-1-nuneaton-town-1.
Paul Prole at thehydetiger.blogspot.com.

Guiseley AFC/Nethermoor Park – bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view. Matthew Wilkinson at flickr.com. [ Matthew Wilkinson's photostream ] .guisleyafc.com.

FC Halifax Town/The Shay – facupgroundhopper.blogspot.com/2010/10/fc-halifax-town-0-harrogate-town. wikistadiums.org/the-shay. Halifaxafc.co.uk.

Gainesborough Trinity/The Northolme, thedribblingcode.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/sat-15-oct-2011-gainsborough-trinity-v-frickley-ath. the66pow.blogspot.com/2011/08/gainsborough-trinity-0-v-worksop-town-1.

Nuneaton Town/Liberty Way (aka Triton Showers Community Arena) – nuneatontownfc.com. LeamDavid at Flickr.com.
_
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2011–12 Football Conference/Conference North‘.
Thanks to soccerway.com, for Conference North attendances.
Thanks to mikeavery.co.uk, for 2010-11 FC Halifax Town attendance (in Northern League, here).
Thanks to Paul Prole for the nice photo of Hyde FC’s Danny Broadbent heading in a goal in their title-clinching win over Boston United (seen at the top of the map page, and here).

Comments (0)

April 23, 2012

UEFA Euro 2012, Group A – Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Russia – map of the 8 venues and the 16 teams in UEFA Euro 2012 / plus Group A schedule & venues, and statistics on the 4 nations in Group A & their teams’ all-time competitive records (in FIFA World Cup and in UEFA Euro tournaments).

Filed under: UEFA Euro 2012 — admin @ 12:16 pm

UEFA Euro 2012, Group A – Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Russia: schedule, venues, and national team data

UEFA Euro 2012 (en.wikipedia.org).
UEFA Euro 2012 [official website) (uefa.com).

UEFA Euro 2012 Group A matches -

8 June 2012
18:00 UTC+2
Match 1 - Poland v. Greece, National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland.

8 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 2 - Russia v. Czech Republic, Municipal Stadium, Wrocław, Poland.

12 June 2012
18:00 UTC+2
Match 9 - Greece v. Czech Republic, Municipal Stadium, Wrocław, Poland.

12 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 10 - Poland v. Russia, National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland.

16 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 17 - Czech Republic v. Poland, Municipal Stadium, Wrocław, Poland.

16 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 18 - Greece v. Russia, National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland.

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Group A venues (in Warsaw, Poland and in Wrocław, Poland) -

Photos of the host-cities in the illustrations below from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Warsaw [note: there are lots of other photos and info of the eight host cities in the tournament, in the 8 galleries at this link].

Warsaw, Poland -
Capital of Poland.
Founded 12th century.
Warsaw city population 1,716,000; metro area population 2.6 million {2009 figures}.
National Stadium, Warsaw. Opened 2012. Capacity 58,145. 5 matches in UEFA Euro 2012 will be played here: 3 Group A matches, a Quarter-finals match, and a Semi-finals match.

Photo of Warsaw from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of National Stadium (Warsaw) by Vincent A. at flickr.com, here; and at the following, stadiumporn.com/national-stadium-warsaw-poland/.

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Wrocław, Poland -
Founded 10th century (historic capital of Silesia).
Wrocław city population 632,000; metro area population 1.0 million {2009 figures}.
Municipal Stadium (aka Stadion Miejski, Wrocław). Opened 2011. Capacity 42,771. 3 matches in UEFA Euro 2012 will be played here: 3 Group A matches.

Photo of Wrocław from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of Stadion Miejski by Łukasz Czyżykowski at en.wikipedia.org/Stadion Wroclaw.

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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘UEFA Euro 2012‘.

Base map of Europe from commons.wikimedia.org/File:BlankMap-Europe-v4.png .

Photos of jerseys from worldsoccershop.com.
Photo of Poland jersey from primosoccerjerseys.com.

Kit illustrarions from the national teams’ pages at en.wikipedia.org, list of qualified teams here.

Thanks to primosoccerjerseys.com/poland-national-team-home-soccer-jersey-shirt-kit-2012-13/ for the photo of the Poland home 2012-13 jersey.

Thanks to worldsoccershop.com/shop-by-league-uefa-euro-2012 for the photo of most of the jerseys on the map page.

Comments (1)

April 14, 2012

Minor League Baseball: the Carolina League (Class A-Advanced).

Filed under: Baseball,Baseball: MiLB Class A — admin @ 7:08 pm

2012 Carolina League
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The Carolina League is an 8-team Class A-Advanced minor league in Organized Baseball, 3 levels below Major League Baseball. In 2011, the Carolina League, as a whole, drew 3,448 per game. That figure was better than the other two Class A-Advanced leagues in Organized Baseball, the California League (which averaged 2,303 per game in 2011), and the Florida State League (which averaged 1,642 per game in 2011). The Carolina League also drew better than one league in Organized Baseball which is higher-placed than it – the Southern League, which averaged 3,242 per game. {List of all minor leagues’ 2011 league-attendance-averages, along with a map of the 122 highest-drawing MiLB teams in 2011, here.}

The Carolina League traces its history back to 1945, when it was established as a Class C minor league with 8 teams, 2 of which were unaffiliated (or Independent). The 8 teams in the 1945 Carolina League were all based in either southern Virginia (2 teams) or North Carolina (6 teams) – the Independent team the Burlington (NC) Bees, the New York Giants’ farm team the Danville (VA) Leafs, the Independent team the Durham (NC) Bulls, the Philadelphia Phillies’ farm team the Greensboro Patriots, the Chicago Cubs’ farm team the Leaksville-Draper-Spray (NC) Triplets, the Philadelphia Athletics’ minor league team the Martinsville (VA) A’s, the Cincinnati Reds’ minor league team the Raleigh (NC) Capitals, and the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor league team the Winston-Salem Cardinals.

These days [2012], there are still 2 teams from southern Virginia in the Carolina League – the Boston Red Sox’ farm team the Salem Red Sox, and the Atlanta Braves’ farm team the Lynchburg Hillcats. But there is no longer a majority of teams from North Carolina in the Carolina League, because the range of the Carolina League has expanded north to include teams from northern Virginia (the Washington Nationals’ farm team the Potomac Nationals, based in Woodbridge, VA), from Maryland (the Baltimore Orioles’ farm team the Frederick Keys) and from Delaware (the Kansas City Royals’ farm team the Wilmington Blue Rocks); and the Carolina League range has spread south to include a team from South Carolina (the Texas Rangers’ farm team the Myrtle Beach Pelicans). Rounding out the rest of the 2012 Carolina League teams are the Winston-Salem Dash (a Chicago White Sox farm team), and the Carolina Mudcats (a Cleveland Indians farm team). These last two teams are from two areas in North Carolina which have had a long connection with the Carolina League.

The top 3 drawing teams in the Carolina League
Winston-Salem, North Carolina has had a team in the Carolina League all throughout the league’s 68-year history [up to 2012]. Here are all the names of the Winston-Salem minor league baseball teams -
Winston-Salem Dash (2009-present)
Winston-Salem Warthogs (1995-2008)
Winston-Salem Spirits (1984-1994)
Winston-Salem Red Sox (1961-1983)
Winston-Salem Red Birds (1957-1960)
Winston-Salem Cardinals (1945-1953)
Winston-Salem Twins ([pre-Carolina League teams: 1905, 1908-1917, 1920-1933, 1937-1942], 1954-1956).
Below – Winston-Salem Dash

Photo credit above – BB&T Ballpark/visitsouth.com.

The highest drawing team in the Carolina League these days is the oldest team in the league, the Winston-Salem Dash, who drew 4,662 per game in 2011. It must be pointed out that Winston-Salem’s league-leading gate figures are pretty much the result of a brand-new stadium (their BB&T Ballpark opened in 2010), because in 2008, the Winston-Salem team, then called the Warthogs, drew 2,575 per game; and in 2009, when most every baseball fan in town, it seems, was waiting for the new ballpark to open, they only drew 901 per game (and Winston-Salem drew 4,593 per game in the inaugural season in BB& T Ballpark, in 2010).

Below – Wilmington Blue Rocks

Photo credit above – milb.com/Frawley Stadium.
The other two teams in the league that draw over 4,000 per game are the Wilmington Blue Rocks (see above), and the Frederick Keys (see below). Unlike Winston-Salem, both Frederick and Wilmington have been drawing above 4,000 per game since at least 2005 (which is as far back that the attendance data I could find goes,here, at the Biz of Baseball.com site). Wilmington, Delaware, with a city population of around 70,000, is 21 miles south of Philadelphia, PA. Frederick, Maryland, with a city population of around 65,000, is 40 miles NW of Washington DC.
Below – Frederick Keys

Photo credit above – ballparkdigest.com/ballpark-visit-harry-grove-stadium-frederick-keys.

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Below: franchise and league shifts of teams in the Carolina League between the 2011 and the 2012 seasons…

The Greater Raleigh/Durham area has one team currently in the Carolina League – a new team, the second incarnation of the Zebulon, NC-based Carolina Mudcats, who took over the Kinston, NC-based Kinston Indians’ spot in the Carolina League after the 2011 season. [Zebulon, NC is 18 miles east of Raleigh, NC.] The Carolina Mudcats dropped down a level, from being a Double-A level Southern League team (in the Cincinnati Reds’ farm system), to being a team in the Class A-Advanced Carolina League (as a team in the Cleveland Indians’ farm system). This was implemented by the Carolina Mudcats taking the league-place of the Kinston Indians, who are now defunct (the Kinston Indians were the lowest-drawing team in the Carolina League, drawing 1,780 per game in 2011). The franchise that was the Carolina Mudcats (I) of the Southern League (1991 to 2011) moved to Pensacola, Florida to become the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, in 2012. ['Pensacola Blue Wahoos' (en.wikipedia.org).]

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Bull Durham and its connection to the 1987 Carolina League
At one time there were 2 teams from the Greater Raleigh/Durham area in the Carolina League – the Durham Bulls and the Raleigh Capitals. The Durham Bulls still exist…they moved up a couple levels to Triple-A baseball, and have been in the International League since 1998, where they flourish as the top minor-league affiliate of the talent-loaded Tampa Bay Rays’ organization. The Durham Bulls were a Carolina League team from the league’s establishment in 1945 to 1967, and were re-established from 1980 to 1997, then made the aforementioned jump up to Class AAA. This second incarnation of the Durham Bulls, circa the mid-to-late-1980s, was concurrent with the filming and release of the classic film Bull Durham (1988), which was the brainchild of ex-minor league baseball player Ron Shelton, who wrote the screenplay and directed the movie. Sports Illustrated called Bull Durham the greatest sports movie of all time. {Here is the official site for Bull Durham at MGM.com.}

While Shelton never actually played in the Carolina League {Ron Shelton minor league stats at baseball-reference.com}, he did have a 5-year career in the Baltimore Orioles organization, playing in the Appalachian League, the Texas League, the California League, and the International League. He retired from baseball during the 1972 player strike. Cut to around 14 years later, and Shelton began writing what would become the screenplay for Bull Durham as he took a meandering road trip through North Carolina. He then went back to Los Angeles and wrote the screenplay for Bull Durham in a 12-week period (I am guessing that this occurred in 1986).

Shelton at this point had 2 filmed screenplays to his credit (including The Best of Times (1986), which starred Kurt Russell and Robin Williams as former high school football players), but Bull Durham was his directorial debut. Many of the scenes in Bull Durham are reconstructions of incidents, anecdotes, and general characteristics of the minor league baseball world which Shelton encountered as a minor league ballplayer. The character of the veteran catcher called “Crash” Davis (played by Kevin Costner) was named after a former MLB and Carolina League player named Lawrence “Crash” Davis {his Wikipedia page, here}. The baseball-groupie/seductress/ “Church of Baseball” proselytizer character played by Susan Sarandon in the film, Annie Savoy, was so-named because minor league ballplayers often called the groupies that hung around the ballparks “Baseball Annies”. But the Annie Savoy character was not a shallow groupie, she was a pretty deep thinker…via the IMDB.com site, here/scroll down a bit for quote that starts with ‘opening narration’ is the great soliloquy Annie has in the film, on why baseball is a better religion than any of the other established religions. Incidentally, the “Nuke” LaLoosh character (a cocky young phenom pitcher), played by Tim Robbins, which is so instrumental to the greatness of the film, was set to be played by Anthony Michael Hall, until Shelton put his foot down and threatened to leave the project unless Robbins got the role.

A scene from Bull Durham, which you can see here…

Image credits above – Orion Pictures/MGM via Trelvis68 at youtube.com [see the video clip, here]. logoshak.com. amazon.com/Durham-Jersey-Crash-Davis-Baseball/dp/B002YY2DLE.

In Bull Durham, the team, the fictional 1987 Durham Bulls, and the real-life Durham Bulls’ ballpark of the time, are two of the primary features of the film. [Durham Athletic Park (1926-present, not in use today/Wikipedia page, here.] The teams in the film wear the actual uniforms of the real-life teams in the 1987 Carolina League (and not just the Durham Bulls uniforms, but also the Peninsula White Sox, the Winston-Salem Spirits, the Salem Bucs, etc. are the real 1987 uniforms of those teams). The only place where Bull Durham lacks versimilitude is that, in the film, teams from another actual minor league, the South Atlantic League of 1987, play against the Durham Bulls, which would never happen in real life (such as, in the scene above, where the Durham Bulls were playing the [now-defunct] Fayetteville Generals, who were a South Atlantic League team from 1987 to 1996). Not that that detracts at all from the film, it’s just that, as a baseball geek, I felt duty-bound to point that out.

‘Bull Durham filming locations‘ (IMBD.com).
…

Here were the teams in the 1987 Carolina League -
North Division
Team (with Affiliation):
Salem Buccaneers PIT
Hagerstown Suns BAL
Prince William Yankees NYY
Lynchburg Mets NYM

South Division
Team (with Affiliation):
Kinston Indians CLE
Winston-Salem Spirits CHC
Peninsula White Sox CHW
Durham Bulls ATL

Here is where the 1987 Carolina League teams/franchises are today, and what those teams are named today:
In the 1987 Carolina League, there was 1 team from Maryland –
Hagerstown Suns (still an MiLB city as of 2012, having moved over to the Class-A South Atlantic League in 1993).

In the 1987 Carolina League, there were 4 teams from Virginia -
- Lynchburg Mets (still a Carolina League city as of 2012 – today known as the Lynchburg Hillcats).
- Peninsula White Sox (Hampton, VA; no minor league team there today [2012], but the franchise still exists…the Peninsula Pilots moved north to Wilmington, Delaware in 1993, where the Wilmington Blue Rocks still exist as a Carolina League team).
- Prince William Yankees (franchise started as Alexandria (VA) Dukes (1978-80; 1982-83)/ moved to Prince William (VA) (1984-98)/ moved to Woodbridge (VA) today the franchise (from 1999 to present) is known as the Potomac Nationals).
- Salem Buccaneers (still a Carolina League city as of 2012 – today known as the Salem Red Sox).

In the 1987 Carolina League, there were 3 teams from North Carolina -
- Durham Bulls (still exist as a Triple-A team in the International League [since 1998].
- Kinston Indians (went defunct after 2011, franchise moved east to become Carolina Mudcats (II) (est. 2012 as a Carolina League team).
- Winston-Salem Spirits (still a Carolina League city as of 2012 – today known as the Winston-Salem Dash).

…

Here is a Q&A with Ron Shelton, by Richard Deitsch at SI.com, ‘Ron Shelton Q&A‘.

Here is a very comprehensive interview of Ron Shelton, by John Zelazny, at eightmillionstories.com, ‘Ron Shelton: From the Red Wings to BULL DURHAM‘.
_

Photo and Image credits on the map page -
Frederick Keys/ Harry Grove Stadium, here2play.wordpress.com.
Lynchburg Hillcats/ Calvin Falwell Field, littleballparks.com.
Potomac Nationals/ G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium, bing.com/maps.
Wilmington Blue Rocks/ Daniel S. Frawley Stadium, bing.com/maps.

Carolina Mudcats/ Five County Stadium, skyscrapercity.com thread, ‘Little Ballparks‘.
Salem Red Sox/ Lewis-Gale Field at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium, “the basebal travele…” at panoramio.com.
Myrtle Beack Pelicans/ BB&T Coastal Field, bing.com/maps.
Winston-Salem Dash/ BB&T Ballpark, visitsouth.com.

I used this list, from Ballparkdigest.com, ‘2011 Baseball Attendance by Average [350 minor league baseball teams' 2011 average attendances]‘. Thanks very much to the Ballparksdigest.com site for the comprehensive attendance data.

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘Minor league baseball‘; ‘Carolina League‘.

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