The Netherlands national team will establish its base camp for EURO 2012 in the Polish city of Kraków. To be more precise, the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) has opted for the Sheraton Kraków Hotel – a choice made in close consultation with its official travel partner Oad Reizen. The hotel lies on the edge of downtown Krakow and on a bank of the River Vistula. Oranje will perform its training sessions at the Reymana Stadium, home to Wisła Kraków. Albeit originated from 1953, the stadium has been totally rebuilt in recent years and seats 33 500 spectators.

Dutch national coach Bert van Marwijk is pleased with the choice made, “I’m very happy that we’ve been able to get this base camp. Kraków made a very hospitable and fine impression on me. It’s a beautiful city, and we hope to be able to stay there for a long time.” The national coach is equally contented with the chosen training facilities and hotel accommodation “The brand-new stadium used by Wisła Kraków is well-suited to our training purposes. And I felt immediately at home at the Sheraton Kraków Hotel, located near the stadium. I find that really important. After all, in the coming summer, the Sheraton will be our home for a number of weeks.”

CEO Professional Football Bert van Oostveen endorses Van Marwijk’s views, “Quite some time ago, we adopted the good custom to find suitable hotel and training facilities well ahead of time. That has again helped us to secure our first choice for our base camp.”

“I am glad that the Netherlands national football team has chosen Krakow for their base camp during UEFA EURO 2012,” said Jacek Majchrowski, Kraków’s Mayor. “I am sure that our guests will be satisfied with their stay in Kraków and the facilities prepared for them. I also hope that Dutch fans who follow Oranje will visit Kraków. See you in Kraków, the city of Polish kings!”

Wisla chairman Bogdan Basałaj is delighted to be able to play host to Oranje, “We are very pleased and honoured that one of the best national teams in the world will train at the perfectly prepared Wisła Kraków home ground. I believe that the Netherlands national team’s stay in Kraków will be a fantastic promotion for the City of Kraków and for the Reymana Stadium. Furthermore, I am strongly convinced that all the Dutch players, coaches and football fans will be totally satisfied from the choice they have made.”

The Sheraton’s General Manager Stijn Oyen, who hails from Belgium, is looking forward to the arrival of the Dutch delegation, “Our entire team at the Sheraton Kraków Hotel is extremely happy and excited to host the Netherlands national team at EURO 2012 and to be their home away from home during the tournament. We are keeping in touch with their representatives to ensure that we can provide everything the team needs, so that they will be able to work efficiently and relax at our hotel. In the past, we hosted other international top football teams. So I am certain that the experience of our staff will guarantee that the Dutch team and their support staff will enjoy their stay at our hotel.”

Whether Oranje will play its three group matches at EURO 2012 in Poland or Ukraine will depend on the result of the draw in Kiev on 2 December. There, current European champion Spain and the Netherlands – which will head its group, based on their position of the UEFA National Team Coefficient Ranking – will be linked to Group B (Kharkiv, Ukraine) or Group C (Gdansk, Poland). Even if the Netherlands team ends up in the Ukrainian group, it will still use Kraków as its home base.

Wisła Kraków SA Press Office