Planning the summer BBQs - the Euro 2012 draw

Well, after all the pseudo-Eurovision spectacle, parade of legends and a swooping tour of the most photogenic parts of the host cities involved, the draw was made for the group stages of Euro 2012, and with it, the occupants of 16 nations (and millions of neutrals) made their plans for the summer.

The obligatory Group of Death emerged, and thankfully only three quarters of the tiresome Group of Debt were drawn together. The hosts had slightly more generous draws, meanwhile England's draw was about as reasonable as could be hoped.

The Ukrainian Fuzz may well be scared of a repeat of Charleroi 2000, but the UK constabularies will be even more nervous - up and down the land, men will be planning (with military precision) pub schedules and barbecues, and working out the time different between London and Kiev...

If you've got a set of keys on you, stick 'em in your hand and make 'em count!

On Monday 11th June 2012 at 5pm, expect similar photos as seen during recent World Cups, as England play France - roads almost empty, desks unattended. In Olympic year, with the mad panic ahead, and the official guidelines for people to work from home and to drink from home, will another half day hurt?

Tesco value or Aldi son?

The flip side to this of course is that June effectively sees three extra St Patricks' Days to contend with, as Ireland also qualified into a difficult group of Spain, Italy and Croatia. March 17th is usually allowed without much grief as it's once a year - but will the plastic Paddys of the land let more summery conditions go without a good booze up? I suggest not. Good time to invest in Guinness novelty hats.

But what about the rest of the draw? Group A actually looks quite competitive, while Group B looks pure awesome. Imagine 2016, when an extra eight teams join the party, so much that almost half of Europe's teams will be joining in, no doubt to the detriment of the overall competition. Part of the theory that this is a superior competition to the World Cup is the lack of any perceived 'filler'.

You've been tangoed

What also came with the draw was the unveiling of the match ball - a previous blog covers balls - which Adidas hope will be bulging the net of school playgrounds soon. But will the 2016 version be big enough to contain all the participants?

You can follow Nelson's Column on Twitter and Facebook: www.twitter.com/nelsonscolumn_ and www.facebook.com/nelsoncolumn