Yahoo! Maktoob, the premier digital media company, kicked off the UEFA Euro 2012 games with a one-stop destination for all the up to date news and information on the biggest football event of the year. Throughout the duration of the championship, Yahoo! Maktoob's Euro 2012 destination (http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/euro-2012/) includes the latest news, schedules, features, photo and video galleries, team profiles and statistics. Visitors also have the opportunity to engage in various activities such as games, competitions, quizzes, and sharing through social media. “The Euro 2012 games are highly anticipated in the region, and we are ensuring that we provide relevant, fresh and exciting coverage of this big sporting event, and packaging it in a way that keeps people entertained and informed, while enabling them to engage and share," said Ahmed Nassef, Vice President and Managing Director, Yahoo! Maktoob. In the run up to the games, Yahoo! Maktoob Research conducted a survey in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to understand people's attitudes towards the event. The survey results showed that the UEFA Euro 2012 is MENA's second most popular football event following the FIFA World Cup. Approximately half (47%) of the MENA respondents said they would follow the EURO 2012, which indicates the high popularity and viewership of this football event. According to the survey, 37% of MENA residents are tipping Spain to defend their title successfully; three-time European Champions Germany the next popular choice with 16%; and just 10% picked England or 2006 World Cup winners Italy to claim the Henri Delaunay trophy. Just 1% of the survey picked co-host Poland winning the tournament on home soil. With the crème da la crème of European footballers on show this summer the survey also reveals that half the UEFA Euro 2012 viewers will dedicate 2-4 hours a day to watching the action. This is hardly surprising with the likes of Steven Gerrard, Wesley Sneijder and Andrey Arshavin et al battling it out to become European Champions. In UEFA Euro 2008, the Spanish duo of Xavi and Andreas Iniesta and Germany's Miroslav Klose lit up the semi-final and finals. The survey reveals that in 2012 MENA is looking most forward to the latter stages of the tournament, the semi-finals and finals to be followed by 64% and 73% respectively. The survey also shows that whilst the games are most popular with the males between the ages of 20 and 40, EURO 2012 is very much a family affair with 83% of respondents saying they'll be tuning in to watch the matches with family. The UEFA European Championship 2012 will be held in Poland and Ukraine from 8 June till 1 July 2012 with Spain looking to defend the title they won in Austria in 2008. Press Release
