Poland's National Sports Centre chief resigns after stadium debacle

Fans protest Super Cup cancellation: photo - PAP/Leszek Szymanski

“Although my participation in this project has come to an end as a director, I am convinced that this magnificent facility has the potential in the future to be not only a centre of entertainment and culture but a profitable and independant concern,” Kapler says in a statement released Monday afternoon.

The resignation is thought to have been asked for by Sports Minister Joanna Mucha and follows the cancellation of the Super Cup between Legia Warszawa and Wislaw Krakow at the weekend.

The match was cancelled after the stadium, built for the Euro 2012 football championships this summer, failed to receive safety certificates from emergency services.

Around 500 Legia Warsawa fans protested against the cancellation of the Super Cup on Saturday, which was scheduled to be the first competitive football match to be staged at the stadium.

Sports Minister Joanna Mucha has announced that Kapler's role will now be performed by Robert Wojtas, formerly vice-president of the National Sports Centre.

Kapler defends his three-year record in charge of building the stadium, the centrepiece of Poland's hosting, with Ukraine, of the Euro 2012 championships in his resignation statement, today.

“The National Stadium in Warsaw was built in record time – in 32 months and about 300 million zloty (70 million euros) cheaper than the estimate provided in 2009. It involved about 12, 000 workers […] and a total of more than 1,000 companies.”

“I would like to thank everyone involved in the creation of the largest sports investment in Poland,” Kapler ends his statement.

Kapler was the head of the NSC since 6 August 2008. Previously, he worked at energy giant PKN Orlen SA, where he served as an executive director.

The opening match of Euro 2012, between Poland and Greece in Group A, will take place on 8 June at the National Stadium. (pg)

source: PAP