Boys will be in green for Spain clash

UEFA have confirmed to the FAI that Ireland will be able to wear their green shirts for the game against Spain in Gdansk on June 14.

With the Spanish nominally drawn as the ‘home’ team in the PGE Arena, it was expected that Ireland would have to play in their away strip of white shirts and green shorts, not least because it has long been the practice of football’s international authorities to minimise any potential confusion for viewers still watching games in black and white television.

However, the Irish have now been told that they can go green against Spain’s red and, since they have already been drawn as the ‘home’ side in their opening game against Croatia in Poznan on June 10, it means the team will only have to switch to white shirts as the ‘away’ side for their final group match, against Italy, also in Poznan, on June 18.

Indeed, the Irish should feel very much at home in the PGE Arena in Gdansk, where green is the dominant colour inside the stadium.

Home club Lechia Gdansk wear green and white, the dressing rooms are green and white and, viewed in bright sunshine yesterday, the pattern created by the seats inside the attractive 40,000 capacity ground offered something close to the traditional 40 shades of green.

Add in the fact the whole stadium is encased on the outside in amber panels — in deference to the abundance of the material found on the Baltic coast — and, at a stretch, you could almost make a case for the colour scheme having been lifted from the Irish flag.

The most important shade of green, however, will be that of the playing surface and, yesterday, stadium officials confirmed the pitch in the stadium will have to be completely relayed at the end of the current Polish club season. But while expressing confidence the new pitch will be in perfect condition for the Euros, they also admitted time will be at a premium, meaning that it will only get its first proper test when Spain and Italy actually meet here in the opening group game on June 10.

FAI chief executive John Delaney has previously predicted Ireland could have 20,000 fans inside the grounds in both Gdansk and Poznan and, yesterday, a local official in Gdansk estimated that there could even be as many as 35,000 Irish supporters visiting the city for the match against Spain.

While that sounds somewhat inflated, the authorities are certainly ready for a major influx of visitors. Zbigniew Weinar, deputy director of the Mayor’s Bureau of Sports and coordinator of the Euro 2012 office in the city, told visiting Irish reporters there will be 100,000 beds available in the Tri-City area as well as two campsites in Gdansk itself with space for a total of 8,000 guests.

The city’s designated Fanzone will show matches live on big screens for people without tickets while, for those attending the games, train, tram and bus services to and from the stadium will be free around match days.